Every Tennessee Vols fan should hear what Willie Martinez said about Kamal Hadden
At one point this season, Tennessee Vols cornerback Kamal Hadden was inexplicably hearing boos from UT fans. The reason for the boos? A bad game against South Carolina and a couple of missed tackles. That's it. Otherwise, Hadden, especially this season, was lights out for the Volunteers. But that game against South Carolina, a game […]
At one point this season, Tennessee Vols cornerback Kamal Hadden was inexplicably hearing boos from UT fans.
The reason for the boos?
A bad game against South Carolina and a couple of missed tackles.
That's it. Otherwise, Hadden, especially this season, was lights out for the Volunteers. But that game against South Carolina, a game in which the entire Tennessee defense played poorly, seemed to sour the opinion of Hadden in the mind of some fans.
The boos, however, turned into cheers this season as Hadden made play after play while leading the charge in Tennessee's secondary. Hadden's pick six against the South Carolina Gamecocks was easily one of the Vols' most exciting plays of the season.
Unfortunately for Hadden, his season ended after suffering a shoulder injury in Tennessee's loss to Alabama in October.
Vols cornerbacks coach Willie Martinez spoke about Hadden this week during Vol Calls and he had some terrific things to say about the Michigan native.
"He just built confidence, got consistency, started making plays," said Martinez about Hadden. "But he’s worked to it off the field. I mean, he got his degree. That’s one of the things, to see a kid get his degree and really earn it. First time he’d gotten back-to-back 3.0s in semesters. And to see him and his attitude change, and then all the work that he’s put into it — it’s really cool to see as a coach."
“But in the three years here, he’s leaving with a degree," added Martinez. "He got better. And obviously he’s a great teammate. Guys love him. He’s infectious. And he’s still helping us. He’s coaching. He’s with us every day. He has great input. We give him energy of the game. It’s because he’s got a lot of energy during the game. He’s coaching all the kids. It’s kind of cool. He’s got good input now. He’s got good thought process in the game. It’s really cool.”
It's incredibly unfortunate that Hadden's time as a Vol is over just as he was hitting his stride (he came to Tennessee in 2021 with three seasons of eligibility and apparently won't receive an extra COVID year because he was at Independence Community College in 2019/2020 and they didn't have a season in 2020).
But while it's a shame that Hadden's season ended prematurely, at least he heard the cheers he deserved from fans at Neyland while delivering some electric moments on the field.
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