With Jeremy Pruitt and defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer taking over the Tennessee defense, it is no secret that the Volunteers will be implementing a 3-4 scheme in 2018. Redshirt junior linebacker Quart’e Sapp spoke to Trey Wallace of FOX Sports Knoxville on Sunday about how well he has been picking it up as a veteran on this team.

“Obviously in the spring it was all new, so it was a little bit different,” said Sapp on Sunday inside Neyland Stadium. “But coming into this fall, it’s a little bit better and we’re better prepared for it.”

“There’s more tedious details we’re going over. Not necessarily about alignments or anything like that, it’s about, you know, the 300-course level skill.”

You can view the entire interview with Sapp below:

Anytime a team is coming off a 4-8 season and learning an entirely new gameplan, veterans that younger players can look up to are necessary. Sapp commented on his desire to be a leader, like the ones before him in his position group.

“I remember my freshman year, looking at Jalen Reeves-Maybin and those guys before me,” said Sapp, “and I always wanted to lead and I was following in their footsteps. It puts a lot of weight on my shoulders but I like that weight, being able to point somebody in the right direction.”

Sapp played in all 12 games in 2017, racking up 78 tackles after sitting out most of 2016 with a knee injury. The Vols will need the former 4-star recruit’s leadership in what is a brutal 2018 schedule that starts off tough immediately with the opener in Charlotte against West Virginia.