One of the keys to developing college athletes is consistent messaging and an understanding of expectations.

If you look at Tennessee through the last 10+ years creating that culture has been a challenge. Defensively for the Vols in 2021, it’s was in part trial by fire and in part simply survival with a roster that then lacked numbers and still does in spots and a new defense that was being created over the spring and the summer.

“Last year some of you guys could have lined up at linebacker and we probably would have been more successful. We were just short on numbers and we were really just trying to survive the day,” linebackers coach Brian Jean Mary stated. “Now, it’s a night and day difference.”

Added defensive coordinator Tim Banks, “I think the hardest thing about last season is we didn’t have any reference. You could try to look at the tape, but I just didn’t. We wanted to judge these guys on their own merit.”

And those guys were judging the new coaches on their own merit.

Fast forward to this off-season and things are very different. Gone are some key cogs to the defense, but some experienced talent returns at all three levels of the defense and so do those leading them. The return of the entire defensive staff is quite the upset in the recent annuals of Vol football.

In fact, 2022 is the first time since 2013-2015 (Butch Jones’ first three years) that the entire defensive coaching staff is back. The result is a creation of continuity and legitimate expectations to meet.

“I think what we have is a culture that is hopefully in place,” Banks said. “I think you have to start over every single year and break things down so that guys understand what the expectations are. I think what’s easier is you have some guys that can preach the gospel for you. Last year it was just the coaches trying to teach you what our expectations are. But as we are doing it again, now you have guys in line explaining it with us. The standard hasn’t changed. We are excited about it.”

For veteran defensive line coach Rodney Garner that standard is growth and not accepting average.

“It’s a competitive thing. We have to continue to put them in competitive situations. We have to keep grinding, raising the bar letting them know we are not going to accept mediocrity,” Garner said. “That’s not acceptable. Being average is not what any of us signed up for. I didn’t sign up for it. They didn’t sign up for it. It’s understanding what the goal is. We can’t just give it lip service. We have to be about getting it and it’s going to hurt. To be great, they are going to have to grind. They are going to have to get in there, go through the fire and the adversity and find a way to fight through it when they want to give up and quit. We have to find a way to pull through it together.

“We are not going to stay the same. We have to get uncomfortable and we have to strain. We have to get comfortable being uncomfortable so we can be comfortable later. That’s the standard and expectation.”

It’s a standard that everyone could clearly understand because for the first time in nearly a decade there are no new voices from last year. There’s no new culture and the expectations are clearly defined in everything.

“We feel like if you have the discipline to do the right things off the field then that discipline should show up on the field. We really preach that a lot and we feel like we are starting to see some pay off to it if you will,” Banks said.

And that gives hope to improvement from a year ago.