Tim Banks had high praise for Tennessee's defensive line last week, but Rodney Garner wasn't aware of it.
The Vols' fourth-year position coach, known for his meticulous coaching style, hasn't bought too much into the offseason hype already building around Tennessee's defensive front just four days into spring practices—even if Banks, the orchestrator of the defense says he believes they should have the best line in the country.
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"I didn't know (Banks) did that," Garner said. "Obviously I would love to ordain these guys to be that, but unfortunately that's not the way it works. For us to be that, we've got to come out, we've got to put in work every day. We've got to continue to grow. There are lots of areas that we've got to improve in and I think they see that...Everyday they go on that field, we're chasing greatness."
There's reason optimism, even if Garner thinks the group hasn't yet earned the preseason attention it is getting yet.
Tennessee returns a plethora of starting experience on the interior, a talented transfer in Jaxson Moi and one of the best edge rushers in college football in junior James Pearce Jr., who is coming off of a stellar sophomore campaign where he accounted for 27 tackles and 9.5 sacks.
Among the last images of the Vols' 2023 season was James stepping in front of a pass and running down the sideline for a touchdown in Tennessee's 35-0 romping of Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
Pearce's profile has skyrocketed since. He has topped nearly every early NFL Draft list among defensive lineman, but Garner still sees plenty of room for improvement. So does Banks and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Apparently so does Pearce, according to his coaches.
"No one man is bigger than the program. Never, ever," Garner said. "James had a really good season but when he looks at that film, there's a lot of areas that he needs to improve on. I think he can see it, if you open your eyes and be realistic. For what he wants to achieve and where he wants to go, there's some things that he needs to get better at to make him that commodity so that you don't have any red flags or any negatives about you.
"He's been fine. He is a competitor. He's very smart. He just has to make sure he's channeling all of his energy in the right direction."
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Garner has seen Bryson Eason channel his energy this spring in a way he hasn't in his previous four seasons with the program.
Eason, who joins fifth-year tackle Omari Thomas as a returner on the interior of the defensive line, totaled a career-high 26 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss in 12 games last season. His presence at practice has been a lot more noticeable over the last week, a sign that the redshirt senior is making the most of his veteran status.
"Bryson is starting grow up. He's always been a talented individual," Garner said. "I think what speaks volumes is the last practice, Bryson was voted by the staff, the energy-giver of the day. Three years ago, nobody would have ever said Bryson Eason was an energy-giver...The way that he has been practicing the first four days of camp, the energy that he's been bringing, the juice, the attention to detail that he's bringing.
"I'm hoping and thinking that maybe the light is coming on. Hopefully he's going to take that next step. It will be good for Tennessee. It will be good for Bryson."
For Eason, the reason for his change in attitude at practice and inside the facility is his comfort. He credits his teammates for that.
"I feel like the guys in the room just make it comfortable," Eason said. "It's such a comfortable space and everyone can just be themselves. Being a dude with a lot of energy and being a loud dude, I feel like that's something I've always been but I just haven't been comfortable enough with it. Now it just feels like can be myself and being myself is going to help us out."
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Garner sees Eason's new approach as buy-in, the result of three years of building up an expectation among the players that have been here since the current coaching staff arrived more than three years ago.
"I think the guys are buying into what we believe and what we preach," Garner said. "I know everybody thinks it's cliche, but I truly believe in my heart that we all are blessed just to have the opportunity to be at the University of Tennessee. We've had some guys in the past that always felt like Tennessee was blessed to have us. That's not the case. These guys, I think they're believing in what we're doing, how we're doing things. That they understand that it's bigger than us as individuals...
"It begins with the 'T' and ends with the 'T.' I think they're starting to see that if we play together, if we play as brothers, then we've got the opportunity to achieve something really good."
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