Tennessee transfer offensive lineman Sam Pendleton brings a new attitude to the new-look offensive line. On Wednesday, he spoke to the media and let Vol Nation know how he feels about Nico Iamaleava and his backfield.
"I care about my guys," transfer lineman Sam Pendleton told the media. "I have a real issue with people touching my quarterback, running back, stuff like that. If you're in the backfield, you're my family."
Tennessee fans immediately loved Pendleton for his comments and are excited to see how he performs in front of 100,000 rowdy Vols fans this fall.
His attitude and maturity in that quote signal one thing: there will be pride taken in protecting the quarterback this year.
While past offensive linemen did a good job protecting Nico and taking pride in defending the backfield, no offensive lineman has ever come out and said he has a problem with someone in the defensive box touching his backfield.
Tennessee lost a lot of production on the offensive line, so bringing that old-school mentality up front could be what the offensive line needs to bring the nastiness and toughness it needs to protect Nico and company against SEC defenses.
Pendleton is the perfect player to bring that old-school mentality up front. He told the media that his other O-linemen are even more his family. He's going to give his other linemen some tough love to bring out their best.
"Especially if you're on my line, you're even more my family," Pendleton continued. "That's kind of my mindset when I walk on the field. That's kind of how I play the game. I'm blocking to protect the man beside me and the man behind me, not for personal growth. You keep everybody healthy; you win ball games."
Pendleton's mentality and dedication have Tennessee fans excited to see what he and the rest of the new-look offensive line will do on the field this spring.
Tennessee's Orange and White Spring Game will be played on April 12, with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 PM ET. Unfortunately, there will be no TV broadcast of the game but Vol Network will broadcast the game across its radio networks.