KNOXVILLE — Shelton Felton returns to Tennessee in 2020.
Felton served as a defensive quality control analyst for UT in 2018 during Jeremy Pruitt’s first season as head coach.
He left Tennessee in 2019 to serve as outside linebackers and defensive line coach at Akron. Felton was hired by Pruitt during the offseason to oversee Tennessee’s outside linebackers.
During the third week of fall training camp ahead of the 2020 season, Felton met with media for the first time since returning.
He discussed the Vols’ outside linebackers unit on a Zoom call with reporters.
“We lost a great player in Darrell Taylor,” Felton said of the unit. “We are playing a lot of guys, we haven’t really dialed in on a No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 guy, we are just playing rotational. Deandre Johnson is doing a great job, Kivon Bennett is also doing a great job. Roman Harrison is a force to be reckoned with. We are getting a lot of work out of John Mincey. Moving J.J. Peterson over there to get some reps at times.
“The young guys, Tyler Baron and Morven Joseph are some guys. Right now, we are doing everything by committee and focusing on the details and doing everything right. As Coach Pruitt said, we are going to play the best man and the best person. As of right now, we are a committee. We don’t have a Darrell Taylor, we are trying to hunt a Darrell Taylor.”
Below are Felton’s question and answer session for UT players Tyler Baron, Kivon Bennett, Roman Harrison, Morven Joseph and John Mincey.
On junior John Mincey
“I think Coach Pruitt and Coach Ansley also thought about numbers going into the spring because we are low in numbers and didn’t have a lot of guys. John Mincey is a very athletic big guy who can play the JACK into the boundary and do a lot of things for us. He flashes the ability to play on the edge as a pass rusher. The key for him is that he can set the point of attack against the run. I think Coach Ansley and Coach Pruitt saw something in him before I got here and he’s flashing those signs now during camp.”
On redshirt junior Kivon Bennett
“The biggest thing that I’ve noticed since I’ve been here is his maturity and his attention to details. He’s more locked in and focused. He’s a natural pass rusher. He can be one of the best pass rushers in the conference once he locks himself in and focuses on the consistent day in and day out. He’s starting to develop into a leader now, grown leader on this team. I think the sky is the limit with him and we need him with this 10-game SEC schedule. We need him to perform every day, day in and day out.”
On freshmen Tyler Baron and Morven Joseph
“Any freshman is going to be tough in this defense Coach Pruitt and Coach Ansley are running. There’s a lot of things going through their young mind and they are kind of split everywhere. Once they hone in on their skills, you can see the flashes of the things of why we recruited them and why they were so highly recruited out of high school. Morven Joseph, his first step is electrifying — he gets off the ball. Tyler Baron is a powerful guy, very smart, but is playing the system and learning the system. Right now, it is a little difficult at times, but you can see the flashes of the guys getting it and with more reps, the better they are going to get. They are two bright young men who are going to be bright for our future here.”
On sophomore Roman Harrison
“Roman has all the tools — he’s athletic, he’s powerful, he’s quick, he’s learning to play the position. By trait, Roman is a d-lineman, but he’s learning to play on the edge and I think he’s going to be rushing the passer for us on third down and also playing on first and second down. He’s one of the most powerful and strongest guys on the team. Biggest thing with Roman is processing and learning the game, which I think he’s doing a good job for us. He’s getting better and better with repetition. He’s one of the guys we are going to lean on, and again, we are going to play by committee until that one guy stands out.”