In Warren Burrell's four years at Tennessee, he has been asked to step into a starting role during each season.

As a freshman, Burrell started the opening four games of the season and appeared in a total of nine. The following year, he played in eight matches while starting the final four.

Then, during his junior campaign in Josh Heupel's first year in Knoxville, he was an everyday starter while playing with the first unit in all 12 games he suited up for.

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Despite a lackluster performance to finish the 2021 season during the Music City Bowl loss to Purdue, Burrell was projected to be a key piece of the Vols' secondary in 2022. However, before he could truly get started, his season quickly came to an end due to injury.

His upper-body ailment that he suffered after just two games required treatment that would hold him out for the year. As he medically redshirted, his stats through two matches were finalized at 12 tackles and a single pass deflection.

While Tennessee surged to an 11-2 season featuring massive wins to put the program back on the national stage, Burrell was forced to watch from the sideline. This included the highs of shutting out Vanderbilt and slamming the door on LSU and Kentucky. It also featured lows of failing to stop South Carolina's attack to keep the team out of the playoffs.

"That was tough," said Burrell. "Being out, sitting out. Being able to watch my guys ball out and do what they need to do. It wasn't a better feeling than that. I'm a firm believer that you can't truly appreciate something until you know what it's like to go without it. So having that moment where you don't get to play the game that you love to play just makes you want to come back even more. You bring that energy. Just always those days you're not feeling it as much, you remember times like that where you didn't even have that opportunity to be here out on the field."

As Burrell brings this new perspective and energy into practice as he prepares for the season, he is being tasked with a new position. While he began his career at cornerback, he has recently began to train at the star position as the fifth defensive back on the field.

While some aspects are new, Burrell feels like he's prepared for the change. In his mind, defensive backs should know how to fit in at any position in the secondary.

"I wouldn't say it's necessarily new because it's an expectation that every DB in there knows how to play all five spots," said Burrell. "I wouldn't say it's really a new thing but it was a new experience to actually go out there and do it. It's cool, man. It's fun to be able to do something a little bit different. The technique is a little switched up, it's a little different but it's a good time to be able to go out there and play DB. DB is DB. See the guy, mash the guy, that's it."

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What prepares Burrell for this situation is all the time he's had in games. It's one thing to have reps in practice, but playing in a game environment is a completely different situation.

While a member of the defense, your home crowd is at its loudest when you're on the field. This can make communicating with teammates difficult. That's when experience is relied on as veterans like Burrell know what to do in those situations.

This is what makes him such a valuable piece of Tennessee's secondary that is looking to take the next step. Even if he isn't named a starter, the big moments and crucial plays he has under his belt will make him a reliable option.

"It makes you better because it's the real thing," said Burrell. "It's the real war. You can practice as much as you want to, get good at things you want to but having that experience of being out there because practice, its music playing, there's noise there, but Neyland Stadium, that's 102 thousand fans screaming where you can barely hear the guy next to you. So being able to be out there and having the experience of knowing to communicate when it's hard to communicate, working through the tired, working through things, pushing through, straining, those are game rep experiences that are important to us."

Burrell's first test will come in Nashville on Sept. 2 as the Vols face Virginia in Nissan Stadium. The defense will have the game against the Cavaliers and a home match vs. Austin Peay before its first true test of the season.

In week three, Tennessee travels to Gainesville to play a Florida team looking for revenge. These are the moments Burrell can make the biggest impact as a veteran leader in the group.

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