Rodney Garner didn’t spend any of his 10 minutes at the podium playing the role of cheerleader.
Most of the Tennessee football defensive line coach’s remarks after practice on Aug. 12 were about inconsistencies from his position group during a “roller coaster” first week of the preseason.
But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been bright spots, and one Garner did acknowledge was Tulane transfer Jordan Norman. He and Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam have been the two most productive defensive linemen thus far, Garner said, noting how important they will be this season with the opener against Furman on Sept. 5 fast approaching.
“Those two young men have got to be able to help us,” said Garner. “They’ve shown flashes where they can help and they can be very effective in this league, and we’ve got to continue working on the little things just to take our game to the next level, because we need for those guys to be highly productive, and they’ve shown that they’ve got a skill set.”
Norman is the frontrunner to start at edge rusher, competing with Christian Gass and other young players. His value only grew when Penn State transfer Chaz Coleman was medically disqualified in July.
Norman could also feature at defensive end after bulking up from 249 pounds to 265 in Tennessee’s offseason program. Senior Tyree Weathersby and sophomore Mariyon Dye will factor in there as well.
The Vols’ defensive front is largely revamped from the 2025 season. Veterans Joshua Josephs, Bryson Eason, Dominic Bailey, Tyre West and Jaxson Moi exhausted their eligibility. Jordan Ross, Caleb Herring, Jamal Wallace, Jayden Loftin, Kellen Lindstrom and Emmanuel Okoye left via the transfer portal.
That leaves Norman as one of the few expected contributors to Tennessee’s pass rush with notable college experience, albeit outside the SEC.
Tennessee is Norman's third school and first in a power conference. From Birmingham, Alabama, he was a three-star signee in the 2023 class for South Alabama, spending two seasons there, including a redshirt year. He had 25 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries in 2024.
He transferred to Tulane in 2025 and had 28 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks. He had four tackles in a loss to Ole Miss in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The 6-foot-4 Norman arrived in January. Dye has worked alongside him at the line of scrimmage and has seen Norman improve his fluidity, agility and speed since their first introduction.
“Especially in the pass rush, I’ve seen a big jump from him,” Dye said.
Even for those who have had good days during preseason practice, Garner made sure to mention there is still plenty to improve. His challenge to Norman has been to become more vocal and assume a more significant leadership role.
“I know that may be outside of his personality,” Garner said, “but his play is showing the ability to get guys’ attention.”
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Rodney Garner said transfer Jordan Norman is critical for Tennessee football defense