Rodney Garner Hopes Vols D-Line Grinds For Greatness

Josh Heupel’s new fast-paced offense may be grabbing all the attention at Tennessee, but if the Vols are going to pull off any upsets this season, they’ll need to be strong on defense.

Good thing UT has a veteran defensive line coach in Rodney Garner. He knows what it takes to win the line of scrimmage in the rugged SEC.

Said defensive lineman DaJon Terry:”He’s the best D-Line coach in NCAA football.”
High praise for Rodney Garner, who always demands high expectations.
Said Garner:”When they came to Tennessee, they didn’t say they wanted to come to Tennessee to be average. Not one of them. They didn’t want to come in and be an average player. They all had goals, dreams, and aspirations. It’s my job to try to help them reach that.”
Reporter:”How would you describe Coach Garner?”
Said defensive lineman LaTrell Bumphus:”He has been great. I think that’s exactly what we needed. He’s always hard on us. In the same way it’s all love. You can’t take like if he’s being hard on you, you can’t take it personal. Just got to know that he wants what’s best for you.”
It sounds like Garner may be riding Elijah Simmons to lose some weight.
Said Garner:”If you search our league, you probably if you look at all the rosters of guys that are playing, there’s probably not many 350-pound D-tackles in the SEC. Those days. The Mount Cody days are gone and over with. Okay. So he’s got to get himself in position where he can help this team because he definitely has some talent.”
Garner knows he has some talent to work with, but it takes more than talent to win in the SEC.
Said Garner:”This league is a little bit different. (chuckles) The intensity. The accountability. What we are expecting out of practice. How we work every day. Are you going to find a way to fight and win, or are you going to find a way to lose. That’s what we’ve got to change that mentality. Hey we’re going to find a way to win when the game is on the line. I want to know who is going to quit on me on Sunday through Friday. I don’t want to find out on Saturday. That I can’t count on this guy. We’ve got the little motto in our room that we are always grinding for greatness. Only way you are going to achieve greatness is you’ve got to grind for it. You’ve got to strain.”