Wednesday evening, Tennessee edge players Byron Young and Bryson Eason spoke with the media. Here are some of the better quotes with some of my own thoughts thrown in.
VIDEO: Byron Young & Bryson Eason
Byron Young - OLB/DE
"The transition has been great. They've moved me from being in a three-down front to a two-position. It's been pretty good. I felt like I could transition over pretty well, so everything has been pretty good so far." - on transition into new scheme
"The feedback was mainly starting off with my technique, which I've gotten way better with. It was just them giving me the knowledge they have, telling me my footwork needed to get way better and to stop drop-stepping. I've adjusted to that all very well." - on early feedback in camp
"I feel like this system fits me well. They have me playing as a true outside linebacker as in covering and stuff like that. I can really use my speed on a lot of the plays." - on system
"Definitely Tyler Baron and Matthew Butler. They saw me struggling at the beginning of spring ball and kept talking to be. They kept me uplifted. Everyday, Tyler Baron would help me with the fundamentals and technique. Matthew Butler too, he'd stay with me after practice and we'd get extra work in." - on players who have helped this spring
"Honestly, my journey has been tough because of COVID and everything. The past two years, I was really uncomfortable. Something my coach always told me was that I've got to get used to being uncomfortable - I've got to make that my comfortable. So, coming to Tennessee wasn't too hard because I know what my mission is. I know what I want to accomplish. Being uncomfortable, I'm used to it. So, it was kind of easy." - on strange journey to Tennessee
"Really it's up to me to be in a two-down or three-down [stance]. They really prefer me in the two-down, but they've got certain plays where I can play around with it with which one I feel more comfortable with. I've been playing three-down my whole life, so I feel like I get off faster in a three-down. But the two-down really works better for me because I have to go into coverage. I've gotten better at the two-down, but I've always down the three-down. They've really gave me the freedom to do it, but they want me to disguise it sometimes." - on altering stances on the edge
Cain's Take: Byron Young's story is legit. He's had to overcome so many obstacles to get here - Knoxville and in the SEC. He's an older guy and you can tell he is mature. Seems to know that hard work is the answer to getting what you want in life and in football. I think Tennessee will have a field day in how they use guys like Young, Tyler Baron and Bryson Eason. They all have unique skill sets where they can do several things in a defense. No doubt about it, Young has impressed this spring and impressed enough to likely play himself into a major role right out of the gate.
Bryson Eason - OLB/DE
"In this defense, I play 'LEO' which is also known as outside linebacker. My role is basically to get vertical and play on the other side of the ball. We are going to be tough and smart. We will be very attentive to details in everything we do." - on role in new scheme
"With the previous staff - for me - it was more of a military style form of practice. It was very strict. With these practices, they are more catered to us - the team and the players. We have music. It's just a whole different kind of energy level out there. We are out there competing and having fun. We are going at each other with some friendly competition. The vibe and the environment is completely different from what it was last year in what I experienced." - on different feel with new staff
"I looked it it like this. I chose Tennessee. I didn't choose the guys who were here at Tennessee. I wanted to be a Vol. With those guys leaving, I saw nothing but opportunity and saw that it's my time to step up and work hard to earn myself some playing time. I took it as opportunity. I was licking my chops ready to get to spring ball - no matter who the coach was. Thankfully, it's a guy like coach Heupel who brings great energy and who tells us to take it day-to-day. We can't get yesterday back, so we have to focus on today. Who knows what tomorrow holds. Coach Heupel has done a great job so far. I respect him and I love the things that he is doing. I'm all for it and I'm bought in 100 percent."
- on roster turnover and Josh Heupel
"We know we went 3-7 and that obviously left a bad taste in our mouth. Coach [Rodney] Garner keeps preaching to us that we are going to turn this thing around and get Tennessee back to a winning culture like it used to be. I'm bought in and I believe everything these coaches have in-line for us. Whatever it is. As a team, we look at it as 'that's not us anymore.' That's last year and it's time to move on. There's a lot of new guys here and a lot of premier guys who were on that team who are gone. To be honest, this is a whole different team. It's a different mindset. Everyone on this team wants to win. Coach Heupel is trying to bring a winning culture over to Tennessee." - on last year to now
"I never thought I'd ever be playing outside linebacker. I dreamed of playing inside. I love watching linebackers like Ray Lewis and Luke Kuechly. I studied those guy's game. It kind of broke my heart a little bit to know just for weight and size wise, I have to move down. But at the end of the day, I love football and I just embraced the situation. I'm trying to learn more about it. I have a great teammate as well who knows more about the position than me in Tyler Baron. It's like a big brother, little brother situation. I don't know who is who, but Tyler is helping me 24/7. He and Byron - we are always helping each other. They are trying to help me get familiar with the position. - on position move and Tyler Baron
Cain's Take: It might be hard to find a guy with a better attitude right now. Eason mentioned twice that he's bought in and all his trust is with this coaching staff. That's what you want to hear when a new staff comes in. As far as this off season, I think Eason has put himself in position to play a role in this defense come fall. He's added weight - lots of muscle. And because of his background of playing in space, he has great feet and is really quick off the ball. He's strong, too. I think where Tennessee suffers in certain areas of the defense right now, they can mask some of it with unique play-calls that favor these edge players, Eason, Young and Baron.
VIDEO: Byron Young & Bryson Eason
Byron Young - OLB/DE
"The transition has been great. They've moved me from being in a three-down front to a two-position. It's been pretty good. I felt like I could transition over pretty well, so everything has been pretty good so far." - on transition into new scheme
"The feedback was mainly starting off with my technique, which I've gotten way better with. It was just them giving me the knowledge they have, telling me my footwork needed to get way better and to stop drop-stepping. I've adjusted to that all very well." - on early feedback in camp
"I feel like this system fits me well. They have me playing as a true outside linebacker as in covering and stuff like that. I can really use my speed on a lot of the plays." - on system
"Definitely Tyler Baron and Matthew Butler. They saw me struggling at the beginning of spring ball and kept talking to be. They kept me uplifted. Everyday, Tyler Baron would help me with the fundamentals and technique. Matthew Butler too, he'd stay with me after practice and we'd get extra work in." - on players who have helped this spring
"Honestly, my journey has been tough because of COVID and everything. The past two years, I was really uncomfortable. Something my coach always told me was that I've got to get used to being uncomfortable - I've got to make that my comfortable. So, coming to Tennessee wasn't too hard because I know what my mission is. I know what I want to accomplish. Being uncomfortable, I'm used to it. So, it was kind of easy." - on strange journey to Tennessee
"Really it's up to me to be in a two-down or three-down [stance]. They really prefer me in the two-down, but they've got certain plays where I can play around with it with which one I feel more comfortable with. I've been playing three-down my whole life, so I feel like I get off faster in a three-down. But the two-down really works better for me because I have to go into coverage. I've gotten better at the two-down, but I've always down the three-down. They've really gave me the freedom to do it, but they want me to disguise it sometimes." - on altering stances on the edge
Cain's Take: Byron Young's story is legit. He's had to overcome so many obstacles to get here - Knoxville and in the SEC. He's an older guy and you can tell he is mature. Seems to know that hard work is the answer to getting what you want in life and in football. I think Tennessee will have a field day in how they use guys like Young, Tyler Baron and Bryson Eason. They all have unique skill sets where they can do several things in a defense. No doubt about it, Young has impressed this spring and impressed enough to likely play himself into a major role right out of the gate.
Bryson Eason - OLB/DE
"In this defense, I play 'LEO' which is also known as outside linebacker. My role is basically to get vertical and play on the other side of the ball. We are going to be tough and smart. We will be very attentive to details in everything we do." - on role in new scheme
"With the previous staff - for me - it was more of a military style form of practice. It was very strict. With these practices, they are more catered to us - the team and the players. We have music. It's just a whole different kind of energy level out there. We are out there competing and having fun. We are going at each other with some friendly competition. The vibe and the environment is completely different from what it was last year in what I experienced." - on different feel with new staff
"I looked it it like this. I chose Tennessee. I didn't choose the guys who were here at Tennessee. I wanted to be a Vol. With those guys leaving, I saw nothing but opportunity and saw that it's my time to step up and work hard to earn myself some playing time. I took it as opportunity. I was licking my chops ready to get to spring ball - no matter who the coach was. Thankfully, it's a guy like coach Heupel who brings great energy and who tells us to take it day-to-day. We can't get yesterday back, so we have to focus on today. Who knows what tomorrow holds. Coach Heupel has done a great job so far. I respect him and I love the things that he is doing. I'm all for it and I'm bought in 100 percent."
- on roster turnover and Josh Heupel
"We know we went 3-7 and that obviously left a bad taste in our mouth. Coach [Rodney] Garner keeps preaching to us that we are going to turn this thing around and get Tennessee back to a winning culture like it used to be. I'm bought in and I believe everything these coaches have in-line for us. Whatever it is. As a team, we look at it as 'that's not us anymore.' That's last year and it's time to move on. There's a lot of new guys here and a lot of premier guys who were on that team who are gone. To be honest, this is a whole different team. It's a different mindset. Everyone on this team wants to win. Coach Heupel is trying to bring a winning culture over to Tennessee." - on last year to now
"I never thought I'd ever be playing outside linebacker. I dreamed of playing inside. I love watching linebackers like Ray Lewis and Luke Kuechly. I studied those guy's game. It kind of broke my heart a little bit to know just for weight and size wise, I have to move down. But at the end of the day, I love football and I just embraced the situation. I'm trying to learn more about it. I have a great teammate as well who knows more about the position than me in Tyler Baron. It's like a big brother, little brother situation. I don't know who is who, but Tyler is helping me 24/7. He and Byron - we are always helping each other. They are trying to help me get familiar with the position. - on position move and Tyler Baron
Cain's Take: It might be hard to find a guy with a better attitude right now. Eason mentioned twice that he's bought in and all his trust is with this coaching staff. That's what you want to hear when a new staff comes in. As far as this off season, I think Eason has put himself in position to play a role in this defense come fall. He's added weight - lots of muscle. And because of his background of playing in space, he has great feet and is really quick off the ball. He's strong, too. I think where Tennessee suffers in certain areas of the defense right now, they can mask some of it with unique play-calls that favor these edge players, Eason, Young and Baron.
