Former Walk-On Garland Among Standouts At Linebacker for Vols This Spring

Brian Jean-Mary entered the spring with a precariously thin linebacker room, with Jeremy Banks and Roman Harrison sidelined for the duration of the camp, in addition to Aaron Willis and Martavius French being suspended indefinitely. However, Jean-Mary has been creative with the group, as he has continued to progress them through the spring, using a variety of players at the position.

"First, I like to commend those guys," he said about the group during Tuesday's media availability. "Our numbers aren't very high. The guys who have been out there, a hardworking crew. There's a lot of buy-in with that group. They want to get out there and get better every day. A lot of guys with not a lot of experience, but they fight their butt off every day in some adverse situations. I want to commend them. As far as on the individual level, you have a bunch of guys that are athletic, have a lot of hunger and are just trying to learn football right now. They've gotten better. The transformation from the first practice to this last one being practice No. 12 has been amazing. I'm very proud of those guys."

In Banks and Harrison's absence, Tennessee has been creative at the position, with former walk-ons and even long snapper Will Albright receiving work. One guy that has stood out to the new linebackers coach is former walk-on Kwauze Garland.

"He's one of the main ones based off my last statement," Jean-Mary said of Garland. "Obviously, he's new to the linebacker position. He's a very athletic, very intelligent kid. Tough kid. He plays every snap like it's his last. I think he's got a very bright future because he's still learning the game. He plays it the right way. With the DB background he has, obviously, he's made for the game the way it is today. It's a space game where people play to the grass and to the field as far as the wide side of the field like most offenses. He's kind of built for that with his athleticism and speed. We've been very happy with the way Pak has been playing so far."

Garland is the younger brother of Tennessee defensive lineman Kurott Garland. The younger brother has moved all over the back end of Tennessee's defense but his strong spring, coupled with Tennessee's depth issue at inside linebacker suggests he has found his home for the time being.