When it comes to the level of respect and leadership that’s necessary to excel on the football field, there are few SEC position coaches that understand that concept better than Tennessee’s defensive line coach Tracy Rocker.

The 1988 SEC Defensive Player of the Year has now coached at six league programs, in addition to his stint in the NFL, and helped coach and develop some of the game’s best players following his stellar playing career. Now he’s charged with coaching up a Tennessee defensive line unit loaded with potential but a lack of overall consistency over the previous two seasons.

Jeremy Pruitt doesn’t want Rocker keeping his insight exclusively for his position group, however, as Tennessee’s new defensive line coach addressed the team recently to explain the need for continued growth in respect and leadership — particularly once they leave the supervision of the coaching staff.

You can check out Rocker’s message to the Tennessee team here: