Tennessee put on shoulder pads Friday as the Vols move closer to full gear and their first scrimmage next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the defensive linemen and linebackers it\u2019s becoming \u201creal\u201d football as the physicality starts to emerge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rodney Garner<\/a><\/strong> has a lot of bodies to work with in his rotation. One player who Garner has given praise to the last few months, but is rarely talked about is Dominic Bailey<\/a><\/strong>. Bailey played in all 13 games last year recording 11 tackles. Heading into his fourth year as a Vol, Bailey has found his comfort level in the program.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a journey,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cLast year, I started finding my rhythm playing football here. Now it\u2019s about trying to get better every day and keep taking steps forward.<\/p>\n \u201cJust learning how to accept coaching and taking coaching from coach G. Learning it\u2019s not personal, he\u2019s just trying to get you better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At linebacker, Tennessee assistant coach Brian Jean-Mary<\/a><\/strong> has numbers to work with that he hasn\u2019t had and Jean-Mary has had nothing but praise for the youth in his room<\/a>. Sophomore Kalib Perry<\/a><\/strong> found his comfort on special teams a year ago, playing in all 13 games.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big thing for me in the off-season especially in the winter time after the bowl game was to get more comfortable with the position coming from a high school safety to a stack linebacker position,\u201d Perry said. \u201cAlso, spring bal was a big part of it for me getting a lot more reps and being more at a spot was huge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n