Nick Saban makes strong statement about Tennessee Vols DL coach Rodney Garner
The Tennessee Vols will head to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. On Sunday, Alabama head coach Nick Saban joined "The Nation", with ESPN's Chris Low and VolQuest's Austin Price, to preview the matchup against Tennessee. Saban was asked about the Vols' improved defensive line play this season and the coaching […]
The Tennessee Vols will head to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.
On Sunday, Alabama head coach Nick Saban joined "The Nation", with ESPN's Chris Low and VolQuest's Austin Price, to preview the matchup against Tennessee.
Saban was asked about the Vols' improved defensive line play this season and the coaching job that Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner has done.
The longtime Alabama head coach had plenty of praise for Garner, a coach that's been in the SEC since 1984 (Garner played at Auburn from 1984-1989 and he started coaching in 1990).
“He is just a good coach, man," said Saban when asked about Garner. "He’s done a good job. He gets good players and does a good job of developing them. They play hard. They play good technique. They’re very aggressive upfront. So no surprise, really, having played against him for many, many years. That’s the way his guys always play.”
There's no doubt that Tennessee's defensive line is playing at a high level right now. That's in large part because of that talent that the Vols have brought in over the last couple of years, but it's also because of the coaching job that Garner has done.
Games in the SEC are won in the trenches. And the elite play of Tennessee's defensive line this season is the biggest reason why the Vols can still win every game left on their schedule despite having an offense that isn't quite as explosive as what we saw last season.
Before arriving at Tennessee, Josh Heupel have never coached with Garner. He could've easily wanted to bring in "one of his own guys". But instead, Heupel recognized that Garner has decades of SEC experience and is one of the best defensive line coaches in all of football.
Good call by Heupel.
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