Brian Randolph was tired. Tired of hearing his head coach talking trash. Tired of constantly hurting and having to play through pain.
So Randolph, Tennessee's redshirt junior safety and leader in the back end of the defense, did something about it.
He put on weight. A lot of it. And in the right places.
"I wanted to get some weight around my neck and my shoulders," Randolph said after practice Friday night, "so I could take hits and give hits better. It's durability."
The coaching staff let him know that was the needed course of actions. So did the trainers.
"They definitely stressed that," he said. "They talk about getting rid of stingers, protecting (against) stingers. Getting your traps bigger, neck bigger. So that was one of my main focuses in the offseason."
Butch Jones was a little more straightforward, not mincing words when telling his starting safety he was a handful of pounds short of the Southeastern Conference standard.
"He's always talking about, 'We got a 180 (pound) safety in the SEC,' " Randolph said. "He's always joking around like that."
Randolph is listed at 209 on Tennessee's official roster, up 10 pounds from his listed weight in 2013.
Jones said at SEC Media Days in July that Randolph was 25 pounds heavier, but Randolph chimed in Friday night saying it was closer to 15.
"He thinks I was extra small last year," Randolph joked.
Either way, a year removed from an ACL tear, Randolph labored through 12 games while playing with a constantly braced left shoulder last season that required offseason surgery.
He had a career-high 75 tackles in 2013, including 50 solo. He picked off four passes, three passes broken up and added 2.5 tackles for loss.
Now the brace is gone and the weight is added, and with it has come an unfamiliar feeling for Randolph --- relative health.
"It's definitely a good feeling to be fresh right now," he said. "But every football player has to play with injuries. There's not a healthy football player out there. We know it's just a part of the game."
Maybe most importantly, he hasn't lost a step while adding bulk.
"The quickness is definitely there," Randolph said. "I'd say I can feel a little more on play four or play five I can start feeling it a little bit.
"Overall I feel like my speed and my quickness are still there. I just have to get my conditioning (back)."
SUTTON'S STRENGTH
Cam Sutton is never very far away from Emmanuel Moseley. Before practice. After practice. Inside the football complex or out.
"I'm not his big brother, but I mentor him a lot," Sutton said. "I'm always in his ear. I'm always encouraging him. I'm always staying on him.
"Even outside of football, whether it's academics, anything in life, (he) can always come to me."
The two share a lot more than a position.
Both were Rivals three-star prospects. Both were relatively unheralded among their signing-class peers. Both were plugged in as a starter from Day 1.
Now Sutton is guiding Moseley down the path he cut last year, when he started all 12 games at corner during an All-SEC Freshman season.
"We sit down and watch film all the time," Sutton said, "whether it's before practice or after practice. Just so he gets accustomed to our system, accustomed to what he needs to work on and what we both need to work on.
"We coach each other, and that's the big thing about it."
SPEED SPEED SPEED
Randolph and his group of defensive backs encountered somewhat of an unknown during Friday night's camp-opener --- a breather.
"We have a lot of depth out there," Randolph said. "In the drills we get an extra break sometimes, so that's a good thing. Also, it's new people, it's fresh, new stuff to work with."
Those 'new people' --- D'Andre Payne, Emmanuel Moseley, Evan Berry, Elliot Berry, Rashaan Gaulden and Cortez McDowell --- nearly outnumber the old while adding competition and speed to secondary drills.
"They're definitely fast," Randolph said. "Probably upgraded (the speed) a good amount. They're swarming around out there. You can definitely tell they're quick on their feet."
