Rock GullicksonKNOXVILLE - Many Tennessee football players won't become fully accustomed to their new position coaches until the Volunteers begin spring practice later this month.
By then all of them will be well versed in the ways of Rock Gullickson.
Tennessee's new strength coach began work quickly after he was hired in January, with the Vols diving deep into their winter strength and conditioning workouts.
"One thing is I can't button my top button (on my shirt) right now," offensive lineman Jack Jones joked last week. "Hat's off to Rock right there. It's been awesome.
"Everything he says, you're hanging on every word because he's got the key. We've really loved that. I think that's what's made the transition so good, is he's so respected, he respects us and we work hard for him."
Tennessee will have five new assistant coaches, a promoted offensive coordinator and a handful of new quality control coaches and analysts, but the most important addition might be Gullickson, formerly a longtime NFL strength coach who spent the past 17 years with the Saints, Packers and Rams.
His background in the professional ranks commanded immediate respect from Tennessee players, and linebacker Cortez McDowell said they have "gravitated" toward Gullickson this offseason.
"His big thing is he wants to treat us like professionals," McDowell said. "He still has that NFL mindset when he comes into work, and we're bringing in that approach every day in the lift groups that we have, to come in as an NFL-type player and just attack what you have to do and don't worry about anything else.
"While you're here, just worry about football. When you're in class, worry about class. That's just his biggest thing, so our mindset is come in, listen and do and get the work in and see results from it."
Gullickson acknowledged he would have to adjust his approach in some ways as he transitioned from guiding NFL players to developing college players, but his past certainly caught the attention of the Vols.
"You have somebody coming from the league, man, it's nothing but love and respect all the way, because that's the ultimate goal for all of us," offensive guard Jashon Robertson said. "We all want to get there. When you have somebody that's seen it with their own eyes - what an NFL body looks like, what an NFL workload looks like - and you have somebody like that bringing it to us, it's very exciting, and we look forward to getting after it every day."
What happened with the strength and conditioning program last season adds to Gullickson's importance.
At the urging of some of his team's leaders, coach Butch Jones jettisoned longtime strength coach Dave Lawson and handed the reins over to Mike Szerszen, Lawson's right-hand man whose salary ($69,340) ranked 101st nationally among Football Bowl Subdivision strength coaches, according to USA Today's salary database.
Though the Vols' rash of injuries in 2016 shouldn't be blamed on the change, Tennessee certainly lacked the physicality and edge it demonstrated in Jones' first three seasons with the Vols. Now Gullickson, whose $375,000 salary would have ranked seventh among FBS strength coaches in 2016, is in full control, and the Vols hope to see results on the field this spring and once the season arrives.
"We're just welcoming the change," McDowell said. "We've got to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Whatever situation that happened to us, we just have to make it the best situation for us, and this has been a great situation with Coach Rock coming in."
Gullickson's old-school approach meant some tweaks to how the weight room is set up and the structure of workouts, and Robertson said he has the Vols focusing on "explosive movements" in both weight-room and on-field workouts with "nothing but positivity and energy" on a daily basis.
There already appears to be a strong rapport between Gullickson and players.
"It's just his attention to detail," McDowell said. "Everything about Coach Rock is superior. The way that he commands, the way he leads us, everybody gravitates to him. If you see all the guys now, everybody's bodies have changed, everybody's got a lot stronger, a lot faster. That's just the approach that we need going into this next season."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.