Tennessee Volunteers College Football Media Day Quote, 07/21/2022

On how Tennessee’s fast-paced offense challenges the defense in practice:

It challenges us tremendously, no matter if we make a play or if we lose on a play. We have to snap and clear and get ready for the next play, because it’s coming in a couple of seconds. We’ve got to get the call, look at down and distance, understand the formation, get ready to go and do your assignment quickly.

On his leadership in the secondary:

We have a huge role. A lot of the young guys look up to us now, and we just had to bring guys along with us. There are already guys on that side of the ball that understand the standard. It’s about elevating our game, elevating our leadership, doing more on and off the field, building our relationships with each other and with our teammates. We definitely focus on the little stuff, going back in and watching film, critiquing ourselves and just seeing what we can work on. It can be big things or it can be little things. It’s definitely about improving, improving, improving.

On how different this offseason has been for him compared to previous years:

I just had to look myself in the mirror and ask myself what I really want. Once I did that, I just embraced everything a lot more. I have to give credit to my team too. They push me tremendously to be the greatest player that I can and the greatest leader that I can be. They hold me accountable, therefore I hold them accountable. Having them around me, pushing me to be better is a lot of help. That has helped me grow so much. That is where that leadership is coming from.