For Bynum, London calling
Kenny Bynum has both earned his undergraduate degree and closed in on the finish of his fourth spring camp at the University of Tennessee.
He's appeared in 24 career games as a Vol.
He’s spent plenty of the past few Mays taking classes and working out on the UT campus. This May, Bynum will get his preparations for his final season as a Vol initiated overseas.
Bynum, as well as walk-on teammate Jaye Rochelle, is preparing to study abroad in London.
“I definitely am doing an internship in London. It’s a business class, finance and management,” said Bynum, a Jacksonville, Fla., native who previously hasn’t ventured beyond the Bahamas. “We leave May 11; it’s about a two-week-and-a-half deal. Take classes, visit Bath. I’m really excited. It’s an awesome opportunity.”
The opportunity is one that Bynum recalls pondering for a while; an on-campus fair is how it’s now reality.
“We get tons of emails, and I’ve always been interested in studying abroad. I saw that we had a study abroad fair, and I just went to it and asking around who can I talk to to get on this trip,” he said, “since I’m in grad school. I just asked around and found that one.”
Tennessee coach Butch Jones, who recruited Bynum to Cincinnati before Bynum flipped his commitment to then-Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, praised the fifth-year senior as an ambassador of the school.
“It’s a great honor to have him go study abroad and represent our program and the great University of Tennessee,” Jones told VolQuest.com. “Kenny’s worked very hard for this, and he works hard in the classroom and on the field.”
Having already received his passport and tickets, Bynum now has turned his attention toward generating a workout regimen for his trip.
“I know what to do, as far as working out, staying up to speed with everyone,” said Bynum, who said the UT group of approximately 20 students will stay in an international housing building. “I’ve already got a plan, I plan on losing about 15 pounds while I’m there. Losing a little weight and working out in the mornings, I know what type of workout I’m going to do. I know different stuff like that.”
Bynum doesn’t expect to miss a beat in continuing the transition to new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop’s system, and he thinks it’s a system that fits both his personal skills and the defensive unit’s well.
“I feel like we’re a very aggressive defense,” Bynum said. “I like his thinking of blitzing and stuff and the new concepts he’s bringing in. I think they’re really, really good. They fit our defense very well. We’ve got a lot of speed on defense.”
Does Bynum, a SAM linebacker who logs every rep at the spot this spring with no clear backup, find that approach is producing an edgier Vols defense?
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I feel like you need both sides of the defense as far as attacking the quarterback, being aggressive, and you need to play match coverages as well.”