Tennessee fifth-year senior defensive back Warren Burrell had to witness most of last season’s run to an Orange Bowl championship.
Burrell played in the first two games against Ball State and Pittsburgh before suffering an upper-body injury late in the overtime win over the Panthers. He underwent surgery and was relegated to a cheerleading role from that point forward.
“That was tough being out and sitting out,” Burrell said this week in a news conference, “but being able to watch my guys ball out and do what they needed to do — there wasn’t a better feeling than that. I’m a firm believer that you can’t truly appreciate something until you know what it’s like to go without it. Having that moment of not getting to play the game you love to play just makes you want to come back even more.
“There will be those days now when you’re not feeling as much energy, but then you remember the times when you didn’t even have the opportunity to come out here and be on the field.”
The Volunteers had Thursday off following Wednesday’s second preseason scrimmage and will resume workouts Friday.
Burrell was limited in spring practice but enters this season healthy and having played in 31 career games with 22 starts. The 6-foot, 190-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Suwanee has amassed 83 tackles and nine pass breakups, and he has been a graduate since December.
“Warren Burrell had a lot of game reps, had an injury, was out for a long time and came right back,” Vols secondary coach Willie Martinez said. “He knows all the stuff that we know and how we have to perform schematically. He’s confident.
“He knows that he’s been here and that he’s been through some of the good and the bad. He knows that he’s had some good reps in games.”
Burrell has been a cornerback throughout his career but has worked this preseason at the “Star” position as well. The Vols return nine defensive backs with starting experience under third-year coach Josh Heupel and also added Gabe Jeudy-Lally, who has starting experience at Vanderbilt and Brigham Young.
Playing the “Star” has not been a big deal for the former three-star signee from North Gwinnett High School.
“It’s an expectation that every DB knows how to play all five spots,” Burrell said. “It’s fun to go out there and be able to do something a little bit different, but being a DB is being a DB.
“You see a guy and match a guy. That’s it.”
Burrell started the first four games of his freshman season in 2019 and made 12 starts in 2021, when he compiled 41 tackles, seven breakups and two tackles for loss. He finished the 2021 season with eight tackles against Vanderbilt and six in the Music City Bowl against Purdue.
It’s a crowded house in Tennessee’s last line of defense, but Burrell hopes learning from his past can result in impending success.
“Fortunately for me, I was on the field early,” Burrell said, “and I got to experience things early. I got those experiences of knowing what it feels like having been thrown into the fire. It was good for me to learn how to handle those situations.
“Everybody comes to see touchdowns. People want to see us get bombed on, and learning to get back up after you fall is a part of the game.”
Selling out
Tennessee announced this week that the home games against UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio) on Sept. 23, South Carolina on Sept. 30, Texas A&M on Oct. 14, and Georgia on Nov. 18 are already sold out. Limited tickets remain for the contests with Austin Peay on Sept. 9, UConn on Nov. 4, and Vanderbilt on Nov. 25.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.