McKenzie finds focus from veterans
The expectations by some can lead to perceived failure by others. That is very much the case in the world of college football as the recruiting machine gives each kid a starting point in the eye of the fans. Sometimes, kids with small expectations over exceed, while others are built up to something they simply can't become.
Defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie heard the hype coming into his freshman year. He also arrived and saw that being the big man on campus was a thing of the past and quickly learned to soak up all of the information he can from veteran Vols.
"You look at the guys around you," McKenzie said. "You see how they work and how they block out the noise. You have great examples of that on this team. You have Dobbs who is in class half the time. Everyone thinks the world of him. You have Hurd, Jalen, Cam, DB. You could go on and on. You see how they all carry themselves and it's easy to mimic that."
Head coach Butch Jones has seen the expectations arrive like a mountain to climb for several players during his career. He's seeing it this year with JUCO transfer Jonathan Kongbo much like he felt the fan base last year with McKenzie.
"To Kahlil's credit, when you look at this individual, very highly recruited and very high profile type individual," Jones said. "We put these high standards and expectations on 17 year old kids that are very unrealistic. This is a man that didn't play his senior year, showed up and was injured and missed two weeks of training camp. He's a 17 year old kid playing in a dominated 19-22 year old football conference that's a line of scrimmage league. Night and day how far he has come. He's down to about 305 or so. His body has totally changed and he continues to get better and better and better."
"I think coach Jones challenged me last season near the end of the year about the mental aspect," McKenzie said. "He said that's what needed the most improvement. He talked about the body and all that, but the mental side to challenge yourself to be able to push through mentally. That's where I've improved most."
Shedding nearly 60 pounds since last season, McKenzie looks vastly different. The discipline he's shown to eliminate soda and fast food has been exceptional. He's learned alot about his diet.
"Fish is great," McKenzie said. "If you like fish or want to try fish then fish is always good. Just don't fry it. Eat green vegetables with everything you can. Eat fruit or drink a smoothie.
"I'm not going to lie, the Shrimp Dock is pretty good. It's a pretty good little place if you want fish."
Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has seen the strides in McKenzie's game. He sees more explosiveness, but also says he needs to be more consistent with his pad leverage.
"That's the last step for me is working on pad level every play," McKenzie said. "It's just being consistent with it. That's what I have to work on the most about my game."
Adding to the progression for McKenzie has been the opportunities placed in front of him by the rest of the defensive lineman. It's a group that has high hopes for the 2016 season.
"As a defensive line, we hold ourselves to such a high standard," McKenzie said. "I credit the older guys with that a lot. They refuse to let mediocrity be accepted by anybody. It doesn't matter how long you've been there or how many reps you have taken. You have guys like Vereen, OB (O'Brien), LaTroy all have been here a long time. They know what's expected and how to do it. They have seen when it isn't done right and what happens. Anything less that perfection isn't accepted."
The expectations of some, won't define big #99. He expects the best for himself and is willing to put in the work to make his vision as a Vol more clear one day at a time.