Kahlil McKenzie Emerging as Leader for Vols

The timelines of Khalil McKenzie and the Tennessee football program have run parallel to each other over the past two seasons.
Both have developed a lot of hype, and yet the results to this point have not been quite what everybody expected.
The junior defensive tackle, however, is not focused on living up to the expectations that were placed upon him when he arrived at Tennessee as one of the best high school prospects in the country. Instead, it is on eliminating the other parallel by getting the Vols to the vaunted position most believe they should already be.
“That’s what we all feel,” McKenzie said following Tennessee’s first practice of fall camp Saturday. “As a team, we just feel like it’s now or never. We’re out here just ready to shock the world and come here to do what we all came here to do.”
Physically, McKenzie, who has racked up 36 total tackles in his career, has the ability to be an anchor for UT’s rebuilding defensive line, but it is his mentality that head coach Butch Jones has taken note of more than anything.
“I like everything I’ve seen from Khalil, not just on the field, but from a leadership role as well,” Jones said.
The Walnut Creek, Calif., native enters his third year at Tennessee as the second-most experienced player along the defensive line, having 20 games played under his belt — Kendal Vickers ranks first with 31 games played.
With experience comes leadership, and McKenzie has made it a priority to help bring the younger members of the defensive line along.
“(I tell the freshmen) to focus on the details and get better little bit by little bit,” McKenzie said. “You don’t have to try and bite off the whole thing right at once. The first game isn’t until Sept. 4 and we’re in July still. They just need to come tomorrow and work on something that they were messing up today. It’s all about continuous improvement.”
McKenzie can speak from experience in that regard after he spent a large part of the offseason regaining strength following a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered in his first career start against Alabama on Oct. 15, 2016.
“This summer, as I worked through it and time came, the weights came gradually,” McKenzie said. “(Strength and conditioning) coach Rock (Gullickson) told me, ‘If you increase five pounds every workout, you’ll be the strongest man in the world.’ I wasn’t trying to rush things or trying to be a superhero out there, I just let it come to me.”

He is now back to 100 percent and hopes to be a part of improving a UT defense that ranked ninth in the SEC in rushing defense (151.6 yards per game), namely because of a lack of depth at defensive tackle.
If he can do that, McKenzie will go a long way in living up to the expectations that have hovered over him for the past two years.
Couple that with his dedication to helping those around him improve, and the Vols may be able to reach theirs as well.
“Being in the program now for three years, you come out and you feel great,” McKenzie said. “You’re used to everything and now you have a different role — you’re a mentor and you’re making sure that other guys are doing things right. … Some guys you have to bring them along. I was just like that when it was my freshman year.”
