Levorn Harbin doesn’t have a problem with dishing out some motivation when his players need it.
The Tennessee football outside linebackers coach, who players call “Coach Chop,” felt like senior edge rusher Joshua Josephs needed a personal halftime speech during the Vols’ overtime win over Mississippi State on Oct. 4. Josephs said Harbin was “on my (butt) yelling at me” after the game, and it a lit a fire under him.
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Harbin later told reporters he’d keep that message between the two of them, but it’s part of his job to push his players when he doesn’t see them playing to the level they should.
“If I don’t see you doing your job, I’m going to call you out,” Harbin said on Oct. 7. “That’s just part of it. He understands that. He knows I love him. … All those guys in the room, they understand that I want the best for them. They want the best for each other. So whenever you call them out, they know it’s legit. It’s not me trying to pick on them or whatnot. I just want the best for them in that room to do well.”
Josephs’ response to the call out was posting a career-high nine tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a 41-yard fumble return for a touchdown against the Bulldogs. His touchdown gave Tennessee a 27-24 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Josephs and the rest of UT’s edge rushers will play a key role against Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, who ranks third in the SEC in rushing yards (88.2 per game) and fourth in passing yards (279.6 per game). No. 12 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) hosts Arkansas (2-3, 0-1) at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 11 (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
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“It’s going to be really big for this weekend … for everybody doing their job, and only their job. We don’t need Superman out there,” Harbin said. “We really need for Josh to come through and be a team player, not to be selfish this weekend, and he will.”
Josephs has 22 total tackles on the season, including 12 solo tackles. He leads UT in sacks (four), tackles-for-loss (5.5), quarterback hurries (two) and forced fumbles (two). He ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in sacks, tackles-for-loss and forced fumbles.
Going into the season, UT challenged Josephs to develop as a pass rusher. Harbin said he has seen progress every week, although not as quickly as he’d like.
“He’s gotten better each week. At the pace I would like? No. At the pace we need as a program? No,” Harbin said. “But he’s getting better every week, and that’s the goal.”
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Harbin said Josephs has done everything they’ve asked him to do, whether it was maintaining his weight or working on the techniques they asked him to improve upon.
Josephs has also been unselfish, Harbin said, while sharing playing time at edge rusher with Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring. Harbin has had players in the past “try to do their own deal” instead of playing within the defense, but Harbin emphasized that’s not how they’ll find production.
“You have to play within the defense, and you have to play for one another,” Harbin said. “Josh and Caleb and Jordan and those guys play for one another … That’s the most enjoyable thing, seeing those guys excited about each other, and not selfish players. And Josh is not selfish. Yeah, he wants to be the first one to the quarterback, but if he’s not, he’s just happy that we’re doing well.”
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Levorn Harbin on why Tennessee football’s Joshua Josephs was yelled at
