FOOTBALL

5 things to know: Tennessee secondary coach Charlton Warren

Mike Strange

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Defensive back Charlton Warren during Tennessee Volunteers football practice at Anderson Training Facility in Knoxville, Tennessee on Thursday, March 23, 2017.

Charlton Warren, Tennessee's new secondary coach, shed light Tuesday on his first impressions of his players, his coaching style and the transition from the former coach, Willie Martinez, to himself:

1. Energy and repetition: Warren, who has coached at Air Force, Nebraska and North Carolina, described his coaching style as energetic. "I'm going to be running all over practice and I'll never shut up,'' he said. "The second thing, it's going to be a tremendous amount of focus on fundamentals and technique.

"They wouldn't be here without the talent. But we're going to refine fundamentals and technique. You've got to have a capacity for boredom if you're going to play for me because we're going to do the same thing every single day. When we get to Saturday, whether you're up 20 or down 20, you're gonna get the same corner play, the same safety play, and we're going to perfect our craft.''

2. Fresh start: With a new coach comes a welcome clean slate for players who feel they should have gotten more playing time. "I walked in,'' Warren said, "and said, 'Hey, man, it's a clean slate for everybody.' Everybody is trying to earn a starting job. Whether you did play a lot or didn't play a lot, this is a chance to reinvent yourself right here and now.

"To their credit, they're buying in. They're trying, they're working their butts off.''

3. Young guys: Asked what he sees from video of last year's games, Warren pointed to the Nigel Warrior, Baylen Buchanan and Marquill Osborne, three true freshmen thrown into the fire. "I saw a lot of youth playing against very, very good competition,'' Warren said. "The good part about that is they're back. And they have reps, some good, some bad, but every rep is a lesson.

"Now in spring you see those guys communicating forcefully. And that says they're confident in what they're doing and what they're seeing.''

Osborne is working at cornerback. Of Warrior, Warren said, "He's done something every day that makes you say, 'Wow, this kid's got a chance.' ''

4. What about Justin Martin?: Martin, a highly touted junior-college cornerback, has played sporadically the past two seasons and started just two games in 2016. He's a fresh-start candidate with Warren.

"I see a long, athletic guy that's really, really trying to buy in and really trying to focus on the attention of his position,'' Warren said. "I've challenged him to be a technician. You have length, you have speed and all that, but if you don't have techniques and fundamentals it really don't matter. He's a guy that's really taking that to heart.''

5. Depth pays: Warren hopes to develop enough depth to substitute and keep players fresh. "I love to roll two or three corners out there, three or four safeties, and keep everybody fresh. But it's got to be a confidence thing. They've got to show us as coaches they know the scheme and then go out and make plays.''

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