Wednesday morning Tennessee football practice highlights
Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Martinez knows his secondary will have lots of eyeballs on them this fall. They have a brand new look due to several departures and yet they still offer plenty of versatility.
“I think we have multiple guys at multiple positions that we want to feel good about and are feeling good about,” Martinez said. “Being on the 10th practice, we want competition, and we have that at every position. I’m not just saying corner, I’m just talking about whether it’s two corners on each side or two guys at STAR, two guys at the boundary safety or two guys at the strong safety. There are more guys. Our versatility that we’ve recruited allows us to be able to move guys around and play the best players: the guys that are performing and making the plays on a consistent basis. We’re in a good place right now. We just have to continue to improve each and every day like they’re doing right now.”
Even with a new look secondary, the same expectations are always in the room.
“We have the same standards and expectations at each position,” Martinez said. “It’s no different for us at defensive back. We have a great mixture of guys who have been here. We have the young, talented players who are coming in inexperienced that lack the reps. We’ve done a really good job from the time they’ve stepped on campus with that leadership and every day holding them up to the standards and expectations. Obviously, it’s a lot easier when you have a really good room and a good culture. They’ve seen others do it who have had success in the past. The cohesiveness will come from consistency and guys making plays. I love the room, I really do. I love the group. I think it’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been around in my career. They care about each other, and they hold each other accountable. It’s not a bunch of yelling and screaming. It’s very structured, and it’s really cool. This staff has said it, but it’s a lot different than it was the first year or the second year. It’s running on its own gas now. It’s hard for me to get my own points in when somebody does make a mistake, somebody is correcting it and standing right there saying, ‘I got it coach.’ That’s kind of cool to see. If you have that with the talent and the skill that we have, we just have to be consistent every day.”
Tennessee to hold second scrimmage
Tennessee will hold a scrimmage on Thursday morning.
