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ByWES RUCKER 21 hours ago (September 1, 2020)
When Tennessee needed a new defensive
line coach, there was one name above the rest on Derrick Ansley’s wish
list.
He wanted Jimmy Brumbaugh.
Tennessee’s defensive coordinator worked with Brumbaugh for three seasons at Kentucky before the duo took the next steps in their coaching careers — Ansley to Alabama and then the Oakland Raiders, Brumbaugh to Maryland and then Colorado — and he wanted to reunite with him in Knoxville.
Fortunately for Ansley, boss Jeremy Pruitt also had a high opinion of Brumbaugh, and Brumbaugh didn’t hesitate to make the move.
Vols defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh
Ansley certainly got what he
wanted.
“I think Jimmy Brumbaugh is one of the best defensive line
coaches in the country,” Ansley said during a recent
videoconference call with reporters. “Obviously me and him worked together at
Kentucky for three years and we’ve been knowing each other all the way back to
his college days at Auburn and my days at Troy. I think he’s very technically sound, very
detail-oriented, very meticulous in his approach.
“He
has a drill for everything that they need to do up front. Has video evidence to
back that up with his coaching. Kids like that. They like immediate feedback.
They like knowing different ways to do different things.
“I think he’s gonna be a really good fit and add a lot of value to
those guys up front.”
Brumbaugh seems to have
made an impression on his new players, as well.
Senior defensive lineman Matthew Butler said
Brumbaugh had already done serious research on his game before he met his new
position coach.
“His
second day after he introduced himself and kind of we got to know each other, I
want to say he pulled up the Georgia game,” Butler said last week. “And with
all due respect to a formidable opponent in Georgia, we could have done some
things differently in that game so that it would have a different outcome. He
pointed out some things that maybe may have been overlooked, things that could
have changed the game, that could have really impacted the game, just with a
few details. That kind of shows that he had already watched the game and went
through it with a fine comb.
“That’s pretty impressive from a
player-to-coach standpoint, and it’s also good to hear that you
can improve.”
Butler said he and the rest of his
veteran-laden group has enjoyed working and being challenged by Brumbaugh on a
daily basis.
“Even before the spring ball started, this was a guy who was
meticulous about the details,” Butler said. “He knows his stuff. He’s coached plenty of good football
players on plenty of good football teams. He knows his stuff. He’s very
meticulous about the details. He didn’t vary from that at all. He came to us
and he told us how he was gonna be, and he’s been consistent with that. How he
is, he’s drilling in the details.
“In fact, he texted all of
us a few moments ago just with a couple of clips (of film) for us to look at
going into meetings and practice and whatnot. He cares about us, cares about
the game, and like I said, and I really couldn’t overemphasize it enough, very
meticulous about the details.
“Coach Brumbaugh has been on us hard, on us about the details,
and every day we take it in stride and become better and better than we were
the (previous) day. We have guys who listen, who retain instruction and are
getting better because of the coaching, getting better because of the
experience. It’s been good.”
