KNOXVILLE - Coach Jeremy Pruitt recently called Daniel Bituli "the quarterback of the defense," which makes sense considering the senior inside linebacker has led Tennessee in tackles the past two seasons.
But now entering his final year with the program, and with a bevy of inexperience surrounding him, it's far more important for Bituli to be a leader both on and off the field.
"Everyone leads in their own way," inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer said recently. "They have to sort of figure that out. Obviously you would love to have a lot of guys that are vocal but that is not always the case. They, just have to find their niche of how they lead. His has been both. His has been putting his arm around a guy or going out there and confronting a guy to start getting on him, whether it be a workout or practice."
The 6-foot-3, 252-pounder has 169 tackles the past two seasons, and only safety Nigel Warrior has more career starts defensively than Bituli's 18. In terms of voices, his is going to be one that is needed as the Volunteers could be relying on either inexperience or youth - or both - at all three levels of the defense. Having had three years on the field and one year in Pruitt's defensive system has the team a lot more comfortable, according to Bituli.
And when it came to getting comfortable with each other, the senior said the team turned to video games as a bonding experiment.
"We were 16-deep on Fortnite the other day," Bituli said. "We had a mixed setup going on. We were having a good time after going through all of this football. [The best Fortnite player] is between me, Bump (LaTrell Bumphus) and Elijah (Simmons), that boy's good."
The linebacker group started a group chat this spring - the freshmen's idea - to start developing chemistry and build relationships, something important considering true freshman Henry To'o To'o didn't arrive until the summer. The conversations did a lot to start creating a bond with the unit.
"We talk about ball a lot, obviously," Bituli said. "We hang out. We go out to eat. We ask personal questions to get to know each other. We're not just a unit, we're a family. These are my brothers that I'm going to war with, so being able to build that bond has really helped us out. [It's like that with] the entire defense."
Out of all the linebackers, Bituli is one of two scholarship seniors - outside linebacker Darrell Taylor being the other - on the roster. The youth movement means mistakes will be made at times, but after consecutive seasons of missing out on a bowl, the objective is to do whatever it takes to get back to the next level.
Bituli - along with Taylor (the only player to play in a bowl) and Warrior - will be at the forefront of that and know what it takes to make the season successful.
"Win each and every day," Bituli said. "That all starts with practice. We know what we need to do this upcoming fall. If we want to win those games, we have to win each and every practice, so win each and every day."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.