New Tennessee assistant coach drops the quote of the offseason, and Vols fans are loving it
New Tennessee Vols co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter is bringing a new mentality to Tennessee.
Anthony Poindexter, one of the new additions to the Tennessee Vols’ coaching staff, dropped the quote of the offseason this week.
Poindexter, who is set to serve as Tennessee’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, is following new Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Penn State to Rocky Top.
The Virginia native joined The Mike Keith Show this week and discussed what it takes for a safety to make it to the NFL while still helping the entire defense succeed.
Poindexter, who was the ACC defensive player of the year in 1998 while playing at Virginia, specifically pointed out that his safeties need to be extremely competitive and can’t be soft.
“When you’re looking for a safety, you’re looking for a guy with instincts and a guy that’s kind of got a natural feel for playing this position,” said Poindexter. “He’s gotta be able to see things that a lot of times you really can’t coach. They can see it. You put them in the system, and they got a feel for just how to play the game.
“I just think that all of them, as far as the [NFL] piece, that they (safeties he’s put in the NFL) all had a competitive spirit to them [and they] really had drive. I didn’t have to pump them up every day to get them to practice, to get them to do the small things in football that no one likes to do. Everybody wants to play in the game, but everybody [doesn’t] want to practice and practice the right way. So when you’re looking at it, to develop these guys, you just gotta have guys that have that innate drive and energy to play football. And if they’re tough — because I told them I can’t deal with softness, that’s just part of who I am, but if they’re tough, they’re competitive, and they’ve got a feel for the game, they’ll be a good safety.”
There were questions about Tennessee’s physicality last season — largely because of the Vols’ struggles to finish games — so those words from Poindexter will be music to the ears of UT fans.
Anthony Poindexter nearly played college football for the Tennessee Vols
Poindexter was a standout player at Virginia from 1995 to 1999.
Before signing with Virginia, Poindexter took an official visit to Tennessee. He might have signed with the Vols if not for a brutal snowstorm that made the trip to Knoxville treacherous.
“I took an official visit here,” said Poindexter. “What spooked me out of coming here — so, I’m only four hours away — but when we were coming down, they had a snowstorm. So it turned into an eight-hour drive instead of a four-hour drive. And I was like, ‘Oh, Lord, this is way too far.’ I thought I was going to California or something. I really hadn’t left my hometown much. I loved it down here, but it was a little too far from home for me.”
“If my mind serves me right, I think Peyton (Manning) came in that weekend,” added Poindexter. “So I guess it was a good visit for him. But I was very interested. And like I said, the snowstorm kind of spooked me. I just thought it was way too far from home.”
Poindexter was recruited to Tennessee by then-Vols defensive backs coach Lovie Smith, who later became a head coach in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
All roads eventually lead to Rocky Top, apparently.
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