Current Vols say football transitions going smoothly

Tennessee will get spring practice underway in less than a month. When the Vols hit the practice field, it will be with a largely veteran team but a largely new coaching staff, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

Butch Jones will be working with five new assistant coaches this year and a new offensive coordinator who’s a familiar face but in a new role in Larry Scott.

That’s a lot of turnover for a team coming off a nine win season and was expected to compete for an SEC East title.

In addition to Scott taking over the offense from Mike Debord; Tennessee has a new offensive line coach in Walt Wells, a new defensive line coach in Brady Hoke, a new secondary coach in Charlton Warren, a new quarterback coach in Mike Canales and an as yet to be named new wide receiver coach.

Adding to the ‘new face’ feel of this off-season was the addition of longtime NFL veteran Rock Gullickson to head up the strength and conditioning program.

On the surface, that seems like an enormous amount of change, but the Tennessee players appear to be taking things in stride.

Certainly the fact that Wells and Scott aren’t new to the program has aided in the transition on the offensive side.

“There’s been a lot of changes but I think our football team is on a great path this off-season. Coach Wells was around last year. He knows a lot about football and he’s really going to help us. He’s doing a great job so far with what we’re able to do. It’s been awesome,” Jack Jones said of the current situation.

“Coach Scott is the man. We all love him. Last year he got to speak to the team a couple of times and he got me really fired up. I’m fired up to have him as our offensive coordinator.”

Wells was very hands on with the offensive line last year in his role as a quality control assistant, a role that allowed him to develop relationships with current players.

That’s coming in remarkably handy as he transitions into the full time offensive line coach. Continuity should benefit and particularly, it doesn’t seem like a situation where there’s a risk of older players being alienated.

“Coach Wells brings a nice dynamic to the room. He has a huge ability to relate to guys, especially somebody like me,” Jashon Robertson observed of Wells.

“He’s from Nashville himself, he has that same kind pride in this place like I have, like a lot of us Tennessee natives have. For him it’s a dream job, a dream come true. I can’t wait to see what he does with us.”

On the defensive side, Charlton Warren has already gone a long way towards establishing himself as a mentor and an asset to the Vols’ defensive backs.

That’s a group that, like the offensive line, had worked with the same position coach since their arrival on campus.

Warren has made a strong first impression with Tennessee’s veterans, more so by what he’s shown them on a personal level to this point than anything he’s done at a chalk board or in a film session.

“Coach Warren is a great guy and he cares about his players, not just on the field but off the field as well. If we have concerns or circumstances that need to be taken care of we can go straight to him and talk about it. That earns my respect, not just as a coach but as a man,” Todd Kelly Jr. said.

“He’s earned everybody’s trust and respect already, that means a lot and shows what kind of character he has.

“He’s laying the foundation to let us know who he is and what he expects while also being very approachable.”

The new addition that’s making the biggest impact on the Vols right now is Gullickson. That’s due to the calendar and the fact that a college strength coach essentially runs the team during this time of year, spending far more time with them than the regular staff due to NCAA rules.

Unlike the various changes with position coaches, Gullickson’s hire is one that universally affects every player on the team.

It’s also a hire, that from what we can gather, has been universally endorsed by the players to this point.

“One difference is that I can’t button the top button on my shirts right now,” Jones joked of the progress he’s already made under Gullickson.

“That’s hats off to Rock. It’s been awesome. I can tell where I’ve made tremendous gains. He, along with coach Szerszen who’s been here, it’s been a great transition. We’ve all loved Rock.”

With more than two decades of experience at the NFL level, Gullickson has automatically accrued some respect that it might take others in his position some time to earn.

Gullickson doesn’t have to prove himself, his track record emphatically says that he knows what he’s talking about.

As a result, there seems to have been a high level of ‘buy-in’ from the current Vols.

“When you have somebody coming from the league it’s nothing but love and respect. That’s the ultimate goal for all of us,” Robertson shared on Gullickson.

“We all want to get there. When you have somebody like him who’s seen it with his own eyes; he knows what an NFL body looks like, what an NFL workload looks like. He’s bringing that knowledge to us and it’s very exciting. We look forward to getting after it everyday with him.”