University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Ekeler, McGrath, Brooks Discuss Veteran Special Teams
April 09, 2022 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee returns an experienced special teams unit under coordinator Mike Ekeler this spring. Ekeler, punter/kickoff specialist Paxton Brooks and placekicker Chase McGrath discussed the spring with the media following the Volunteers' "Fast Friday" practice.Â
Outside Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator Mike Ekeler
Â
On things starting to click for the team…
"Really has. I think as a staff, we're all on the same page. Terminology we use offensively, defensively. We combine that all in special teams. Coach Heupel is in on every meeting. He is so into the details and that carries over to our kids. Our kids have taken it to the next level. It's been a lot of fun to be honest with you."
Â
On kickers and punters in year two…
"No question. We have guys who I feel are absolute pros. You talk about Chase McGrath. You talk about Paxton Brooks and Toby Wilson. The way they handle their business is like they are on Sunday right now."
Â
On Velus Jones Jr. leaving and competition for his position…
"We have several guys, and one guy is really starting to step out a little bit. Coach Tony Vitello, over at baseball, sent him over. This Mike Honcho dude has just been amazing, but we got a bunch of other guys that are competing for that spot."
Â
On how linebackers have progressed…
"They are doing a great job. Elijah Herring has been playing inside. BY (Byron Young) and Roman Harrison, they just keep getting better. Those guys, they love ball. So the guys that I have been around in the past that have turned out to be phenomenal college and NFL players. They all have that same characteristic. They love ball. Those guys would be out here 10 days a week."
Â
On any cross-training with the linebackers…
"Yeah, coach Rodney Garner does an unbelievable job. I mean all these guys could play inside-outside. They could a number of different positions and it goes back to it being year two."
Â
On the next step for Byron Young and Roman Harrison…
"Just technique wise. Understanding the scheme and majoring in the details."
Â
On having Chase McGrath and Paxton Brooks back…
"He's phenomenal. You look at last year, we punted the ball 50 times. I think we gave up 13 return yards and that's because the guys played their tails off. Also, because he got five-second hang time. Shoot, I could probably jog down there and cover some of them."
Â
On the difference between this spring and last year…
"Just knowing the players. For me, I have to understand what every single player, on this roster, what their skill set is. Going into it, right now I know 90 percent of them. We had our mid-year guys, 14 guys come in new which getting figured out. Some of these too, they have been here have developed. Their skill set is changing. It's just understanding where we can put them in special teams and they can help us."
Â
On punt return candidates...
"I already told them you guys can let them know. (Mike Honcho) He's probably the lead guy. But we've got a bunch of guys, we have Jimmy Holiday, we have Trevon Flowers, we have Squirrel (White). We have a bunch of guys who are doing some really, really good things."
Â
On competing for roles...
"You look at our Pro Day, that was pretty cool. We had eight special teams coordinators in the NFL come to our Pro Day and they came to watch Velus (Jones Jr.), they came to watch Alontae (Taylor), JaVonta Payton, Theo (Jackson). Because all those guys did some great things on special teams. That's kind of the standard that we're going to develop around here."
Â
On Roman Harrison taking on a bigger role this season...
"He played a bunch last year. We felt like we had two starters last year in BY (Byron Young) and Roman, so it's just continued developing. He's up to 250 pounds. Looks like a trained killer, he's looking good now."
Â
On newcomers contributions to special teams...
"Really a bunch of them. We have some bigs in there too that can do some different things but there are probably eight guys in that group that really we feel really confident that can help us out. "
Â
Redshirt Senior PK Chase McGrath
Â
On his first year at Tennessee…
"It has been an amazing experience, I'm really thankful for it. I've had a lot of fun playing here with the staff and with my teammates. This first year I would say was really good, I enjoyed it. I came back because of how much fun I have playing here. With the staff, with the specialists, with the rest of my teammates, it's a really enjoyable atmosphere to come and do your work here and come to practice every day you never dread coming into the facility. It's always a really good vibe and really positive so I really just enjoy coming in."
Â
On how he would describe Knoxville versus Los Angeles…
"It's really different, I would say Knoxville at least in comparison to downtown Los Angeles where I was in USC is a lot more laid back and easy going. LA got pretty crazy at some points. I really enjoy it here, it feels like a second home to me now. I really love Knoxville."
Â
On the difference in number of fans here versus at USC…
"The fans here are absolutely amazing. That actually has got to be one of my favorite things about playing here, especially on game days here in Neyland and just seeing how fired up our fan base is, the amount of people there, the walk and everything and been a really amazing experience for me."
Â
Senior P/PK Paxton Brooks
Â
On whether or not hang time is as important as distance...
"I think they are equally important, you can't have too much of one or the other without lacking. Hang time is obviously important to let our guys get down there. I would say they are equally important, a good balance of both is ideal. As well as location, a good balance of that makes my life easier."
Â
On returning to UT after his senior year...
"It wasn't that hard of a decision for me because of my goals and what I want to accomplish this year, one of those being putting on weight in the offseason. Gaining weight throughout the year is one of my goals as well as kicking off. As well as the coaching staff, they've come in and done a great job in terms of building the culture the way that we want. I like to feel as if I have an essential role in that, so continuing to build the program and leave it better than I found it is a few of the reasons that made the decision easy to me."
Â
On how difficult it is to have multiple responsibilities throughout the game...
"I think it's a little bit easier for me just because I have the experience of doing it. In high school I kicked off punt and field goals. Obviously you have the wear and tear on your legs, coach wants to score all these points so we have to kick off a lot. Things like that you take into account, and are things I definitely have to work through from preparation to recovery in between games, and preparing throughout the week to be as fresh as I can be. In terms of technique, there's kickoff, punt, and field goal is different too. It's really making sure I have equal and adequate time to practice each of the techniques and implement it on the field."
Outside Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator Mike Ekeler
Â
On things starting to click for the team…
"Really has. I think as a staff, we're all on the same page. Terminology we use offensively, defensively. We combine that all in special teams. Coach Heupel is in on every meeting. He is so into the details and that carries over to our kids. Our kids have taken it to the next level. It's been a lot of fun to be honest with you."
Â
On kickers and punters in year two…
"No question. We have guys who I feel are absolute pros. You talk about Chase McGrath. You talk about Paxton Brooks and Toby Wilson. The way they handle their business is like they are on Sunday right now."
Â
On Velus Jones Jr. leaving and competition for his position…
"We have several guys, and one guy is really starting to step out a little bit. Coach Tony Vitello, over at baseball, sent him over. This Mike Honcho dude has just been amazing, but we got a bunch of other guys that are competing for that spot."
Â
On how linebackers have progressed…
"They are doing a great job. Elijah Herring has been playing inside. BY (Byron Young) and Roman Harrison, they just keep getting better. Those guys, they love ball. So the guys that I have been around in the past that have turned out to be phenomenal college and NFL players. They all have that same characteristic. They love ball. Those guys would be out here 10 days a week."
Â
On any cross-training with the linebackers…
"Yeah, coach Rodney Garner does an unbelievable job. I mean all these guys could play inside-outside. They could a number of different positions and it goes back to it being year two."
Â
On the next step for Byron Young and Roman Harrison…
"Just technique wise. Understanding the scheme and majoring in the details."
Â
On having Chase McGrath and Paxton Brooks back…
"He's phenomenal. You look at last year, we punted the ball 50 times. I think we gave up 13 return yards and that's because the guys played their tails off. Also, because he got five-second hang time. Shoot, I could probably jog down there and cover some of them."
Â
On the difference between this spring and last year…
"Just knowing the players. For me, I have to understand what every single player, on this roster, what their skill set is. Going into it, right now I know 90 percent of them. We had our mid-year guys, 14 guys come in new which getting figured out. Some of these too, they have been here have developed. Their skill set is changing. It's just understanding where we can put them in special teams and they can help us."
Â
On punt return candidates...
"I already told them you guys can let them know. (Mike Honcho) He's probably the lead guy. But we've got a bunch of guys, we have Jimmy Holiday, we have Trevon Flowers, we have Squirrel (White). We have a bunch of guys who are doing some really, really good things."
Â
On competing for roles...
"You look at our Pro Day, that was pretty cool. We had eight special teams coordinators in the NFL come to our Pro Day and they came to watch Velus (Jones Jr.), they came to watch Alontae (Taylor), JaVonta Payton, Theo (Jackson). Because all those guys did some great things on special teams. That's kind of the standard that we're going to develop around here."
Â
On Roman Harrison taking on a bigger role this season...
"He played a bunch last year. We felt like we had two starters last year in BY (Byron Young) and Roman, so it's just continued developing. He's up to 250 pounds. Looks like a trained killer, he's looking good now."
Â
On newcomers contributions to special teams...
"Really a bunch of them. We have some bigs in there too that can do some different things but there are probably eight guys in that group that really we feel really confident that can help us out. "
Â
Redshirt Senior PK Chase McGrath
Â
On his first year at Tennessee…
"It has been an amazing experience, I'm really thankful for it. I've had a lot of fun playing here with the staff and with my teammates. This first year I would say was really good, I enjoyed it. I came back because of how much fun I have playing here. With the staff, with the specialists, with the rest of my teammates, it's a really enjoyable atmosphere to come and do your work here and come to practice every day you never dread coming into the facility. It's always a really good vibe and really positive so I really just enjoy coming in."
Â
On how he would describe Knoxville versus Los Angeles…
"It's really different, I would say Knoxville at least in comparison to downtown Los Angeles where I was in USC is a lot more laid back and easy going. LA got pretty crazy at some points. I really enjoy it here, it feels like a second home to me now. I really love Knoxville."
Â
On the difference in number of fans here versus at USC…
"The fans here are absolutely amazing. That actually has got to be one of my favorite things about playing here, especially on game days here in Neyland and just seeing how fired up our fan base is, the amount of people there, the walk and everything and been a really amazing experience for me."
Â
Senior P/PK Paxton Brooks
Â
On whether or not hang time is as important as distance...
"I think they are equally important, you can't have too much of one or the other without lacking. Hang time is obviously important to let our guys get down there. I would say they are equally important, a good balance of both is ideal. As well as location, a good balance of that makes my life easier."
Â
On returning to UT after his senior year...
"It wasn't that hard of a decision for me because of my goals and what I want to accomplish this year, one of those being putting on weight in the offseason. Gaining weight throughout the year is one of my goals as well as kicking off. As well as the coaching staff, they've come in and done a great job in terms of building the culture the way that we want. I like to feel as if I have an essential role in that, so continuing to build the program and leave it better than I found it is a few of the reasons that made the decision easy to me."
Â
On how difficult it is to have multiple responsibilities throughout the game...
"I think it's a little bit easier for me just because I have the experience of doing it. In high school I kicked off punt and field goals. Obviously you have the wear and tear on your legs, coach wants to score all these points so we have to kick off a lot. Things like that you take into account, and are things I definitely have to work through from preparation to recovery in between games, and preparing throughout the week to be as fresh as I can be. In terms of technique, there's kickoff, punt, and field goal is different too. It's really making sure I have equal and adequate time to practice each of the techniques and implement it on the field."
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