New Tennessee assistant coach William Inge talks linebackers after Saturday morning’s practice

First-year Tennessee Football assistant coach William Inge met with reporters to update the progress of his linebackers after Saturday morning’s practice at Haslam Field in Knoxville:

What he has seen from Tennessee linebackers Keenan Pili and Arion Carter coming off injuries

“We’ve been seeing some really good growth from them to where, what we say, the injuries and things like that, they’re kind of in the the back window now, in the rear-view mirror. So from a growth standpoint, seeing them continue to take the next step to being able to be better, to being able to be elite and to be what we call the trendsetters of the linebacker play on our team and our organization and and in the country.”

What he couldn’t see from Arion Carter in Tennessee’s spring practices, when he was limited coming back from injury

“Well, in the spring you couldn’t see the elements of contact because he was limited to that. There were some times in the spring I didn’t know that there was a problem, seeing him move and, and, and do things like that. He just couldn’t have any contact. So I knew from the element of him being able to move him, being able to run, him being able to change the direction, we were going to get something that was going to be elite or on the top end of everything, from a linebacker play standpoint. Now you put together some of the physicality, him being able to make the plays on at the point of attack from a contact standpoint, you can see he’s going to be one of the elite linebackers that you all will be talking about in the days to come in, years to come.”

How you manage a veteran linebacker like Keenan Pili during training camp and in the season

“Well, probably the best thing about the management you can do is it’s the growth with the young men in the rest of the room. Because we know we can take care of him, he’s already kind of been there and done that. The one thing you must do is you got to walk the line of knowing that he has to be able to strain to be able to accomplish some things, but also in some of the physical elements, we can be able to gear him back and put someone else in. And that gives us the ability to be able to see can this young player, let’s say like Jalen Smith , can he do what he’s supposed to do? Can Kalib Perry do what he’s supposed to do? Can (Jeremiah) Tealander do what he’s supposed to do? And that allows us to be able to give those guys some extra reps and some extra eyes on them for their growth and development.”

If there are parts of Arion Carter’s game that are beyond his years as a sophomore

“The element that he has, something that you can’t coach, is his speed and his quickness. He is elusive when he’s on the football field, almost like a cheetah. So it’s great to have a linebacker that can move like that, but have the body that he has from a physical nature. So he’s someone we’re going to be able to really utilize in the days, years, and games to come.”

Tennessee freshman linebacker Edwin Spillman

“You’ll know who No. 13 is when he’s on the field. It was No. 47 in the spring, it’s No. 13 now. Everyone knows who he is and you all will know for sure. From a physicality standpoint, he is exactly what you want to see him growing and developing each day as a coach, it is so gratifying and satisfying. And probably one of the things that’s unique. We have some examples in our room, what the gold standard of linebacker play is. And when you think about that, just with the history and tradition of this place, you think about Al Wilson . Well, to have Al Wilson at practice today, I think that really brought some elements to the guys in the room. And Edwin was one of them because he is walking in the footsteps of someone like that for sure.”

If he wants Tennessee’s linebackers to be interchangeable at the Mike and Will or just focus on one spot

“Well the thing you do is you have to be able to play or understand what both positions do just because of offenses can motion or shift and get you in some jams if you don’t understand the concepts. But we’d like to have someone who is a true Mike backer, someone who is a Will backer. But they have to know both elements just because offenses could get you kind of pigeonholed and that’s what you do not want to do. The things we tell our guys, you got to be able to run fast and hit hard. If you can do that and play in space, you’re going to be able to be on the football field.”

The differences in the Tennessee linebackers he’s coaching

“We do have different types of personalities, different styles. But the biggest thing you got to do, you got to be fast, you got to be athletic, you got to be big. Because the the biggest thing we have to be able to do from an offensive perspective, the first thing they try to do is get you out in space and try to highlight you. And if you don’t have the speed and quickness to play out in space, then you’re going to be a very average to below average linebacker. And then the other thing you have to be able to do is you have to have the physical elements to be able to play inside the jungle when the big uglies up front come to block you. So what you have to have what we call a healthy compromise of all of the characters and traits from a linebacker standpoint. You got to be fast enough to play in space, physical enough to be able to play in the core. And a lot of that’s going to be with your mindset.”

If they want to rotate four different inside linebackers

“The one thing that we try to do, and this is also where recruiting comes into play, we tell guys, if you’re prepared and you’re ready— you’re gonna play. And that’s what I want to be able to do. I want to be able to play five, six guys because if we can give everyone a role and be fresh in the end of the football game. I just experienced that at my previous place (Washington) and that’s why we were in the position to go play in the National Championship game is because our guys were not worn out at the end of the season. If your goal is like you want it to be in your room, you can be fresh at the end of the season if you’re playing enough guys. And I think that’s something that we want to look forward to doing on defense is being able to have a good healthy rotation where guys don’t get over-repped. But also know that your stars, they’re gonna get the money plays.”

What he knows about his Tennessee linebacker group that he didn’t know exiting spring

“Probably one of the biggest things is that they love to work. And their element of preparation is, for them, I would say beyond their years right now to see the things that they do when no one is watching. When you’re not around. They are what you would call your junkies in the building. Sometimes when you leave the parking lot, how you say, ‘well gosh, there’s, there’s a car sitting over there.’ I wonder is this car broken? So I would send a text message, ‘Hey, AC (Arion Carter) man is your car, are you okay? Is your car good? No coach, I’m just here in the linebacker room watching a film and this at 10:30, 11 o’clock at night. And that’s, to me, that’s what it’s all about. To see those guys from a preparation standpoint, they know they’re really taking the football preparedness to new heights into a new level and that’s what we want and that’s how you become elite at this position.”

Watching Arion Carter’s film, what held him back as a freshman

“Yeah, I think last year as a freshman, he was very youthful. He was trying to put things together but sometimes may not have understood the whole concept of something. And I think that’s kind of what my mission was coming in, was to show him not just his job, but what the people around him were doing. And I think that that’s something that he’s kind of really been intentional about. Him learning, knowing what the guys around him is doing and has really helped him understand his job on those given plays.”

Edwin Spillman’s older brother Nate being on the team helping out his transition

“It’s great because the one thing that Edwin had coming here, he knew half of the stuff already. He knew half of the people. He understood everyone. He was able to put names to faces. Now, unfortunately, he knew more about the program than I did just because we literally got here one week apart. So there were some things that he was telling me and I was telling myself like, ‘Hey, how do you know this?’ He’s like, ‘oh yeah, coach, I came down here to visit my brother and I saw him.’ But he has some great perspective when you have someone that’s been here kind of already been there and done that and that was his roommate when he first got here. So it really, really, really helped him kind of get his feet really planted so he can build a great foundation moving forward.”

Practicing against an offense that can create big plays

“That’s something you have to do when you’re talking about the quick strike. I think that is we were talking earlier about making sure you have enough depth at your position and enough growth in your position. Now you have the ability to play just as many players. So when you get to the end of the game, you’re not worn out and your player could be a step faster than he was earlier in the game, or the player that’s in can be a step faster than they were earlier in the game because there’s nothing worse than putting your player in a position to be able to be successful. But the fatigue or tiredness really sets in because he’s been out there and he is worn out and he can’t make the play. There’s nothing more frustrating than that as a coach. So from our standpoint, we got to really put them through the, what we call the strainer, where you got a strain and you gotta go through all the physicality things right now during training camp so you can be ready when the bullets begin to fly.”

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