Tennessee Football: Warren Taking Charge of Vols Secondary
Tennessee football defensive backs coach Charlton Warren has greatly impressed his players and Volunteers head coach Butch Jones alike using his own style.
After Tennessee football’s fourth practice of spring concluded, head coach Butch Jones sang the praises of defensive backs coach Charlton Warren.
“He’s earned the trust of his players and I think he’s earned the trust of our team,” Jones said of Warren.
When describing the relationship that Warren has with his players, Jones said that Warren has an “unique” way of relating to them.
For the recently-hired Air Force veteran, uniqueness is a key trait for Warren and his coaching philosophy.
“You are going to get a lot of energy out of me,” Warren said. “I will be running all over practice and will never be quiet.”
“The other thing is that there will be a tremendous amount of focus on fundamentals and technique…We are going to do the same thing every single day because when we get to Saturday, whether we are up 20 or down 20, you will get the same corner and safety play,” he added.
So far early this spring, Warren’s style has resonated well with the Tennessee football secondary.
“No one has said, ‘coach, I ain’t doing it.’ It hasn’t that been that mess. It’s a good group of kids and I appreciate the hard work they’re putting in,” Warren said.
“They’ve shown me enough to know that they’re hungry and they’re working to get better on a daily basis and in spring ball, that’s really all you can ask for,” Warren said.
Jones, himself, also spoke highly with what Warren is doing so far.
“When he speaks, he always has a way of gaining your attention, so I’ve been pleased. I sit in on their meetings a lot and I know our players have gravitated towards him.”
It is obviously a very good sign that the secondary is bonding so well with Warren right off the bat. This should make their schematic and philosophical transition easier after former secondary coach Willie Martinez left Tennessee in January.
Tennessee football’s late season defensive struggles last year were widely chronicled. Many could point towards the play of the secondary as being a major factor.
Now, the Vols have to adjust to life without Cam Sutton and Malik Foreman. It is Warren’s responsibility to mold a secondary that has potential but is still a mystery.
“I saw a lot of youth playing against very good competition and the good part about that is they’re back,” Warren said.
“I think we have a good mix of seasoned guys and young guys that got their feet wet and their appetite tasted so I’m really looking forward to seeing those guys gel as the springtime goes on.”
But Warren has faced tougher tasks in his coaching career. Just look at what he did in his previous stop in just two seasons. Warren took turned a lackluster North Caroline Tar Heels secondary into one of the most elite units in the country. UNC only allowed 10 passing touchdowns in 2016.
To see Warren’s coaching style up close, just check out this video of him mic’d up at a Carolina practice.
Jones made plenty of changes in his coaching staff this offseason, with Warren being one of them. We will have to wait until the fall to truly see the impact these coaches have made. For now, though, it looks like Jones made a universally-praised move from the players in adding Warren.