Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks met with the local media on Friday morning just over a week before the Vols open up their 2024 season against Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium.
Banks discussed competition in the defensive backfield, Arion Carter’s growth and much more. Here’s everything that Banks said on Friday.
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On the progress of Tennessee freshman Boo Carter and their confidence in him after training camp
“I’m excited about Boo, just like a lot of our freshmen. Obviously with the situation we’re in (after the Jourdan Thomas injury), his learning curve had to speed up a little bit. So he’s coming along. I think at the end of the day, just like most freshmen, still some things that he can continue to improve on. But he’s been working his tail off and he’s doing everything he can to get ready. So we’re excited about him. We think he’s going to have a really good year for us.”
On MTSU transfer defensive back Jakobe Thomas and where he fits into the Tennessee rotation, what the coaches need to see from him
“I think it’s a fluid situation for everybody. Jacoby has had a really good camp from spring and even this fall. I like where he is, to be honest with you. He’s a good tackler for us. He has a physical presence in that back end, the size that we covet. So I’m excited about where he is and his development. And I got to see the games. I got to see all these guys play in games. Practice is one thing, obviously, playing the games is another thing. But if he stays true to what he’s done, I think he’ll have a big year as well.”
On Tennessee group of linebackers being the deepest they’ve had, new linebackers coach William Inge having a seamless transition with the Vols
“I think the first part is what you said, exactly what you said is right. We have more depth than we’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m really excited about that group. I think we’ve done a really good job recruiting in that room. I think the sky’s the limit for those guys. We going to play a lot more guys there than we have in the past. It’s just because they’ve earned it.
“As far as Coach Inge, he’s exactly what you think he would be. He’s a veteran coach. He has been a coordinator. He has a great personality that those guys kind of can to relate to. He keeps it fun, he keeps it light. But at the same time, he’s probably one of the better teachers I’ve been around. I’m excited about Coach Inge. I’ve said ever since I’ve been here, we’ve got a great staff and he’s been a great addition to that.”
On where his Tennessee defense has grown the most since the start of fall camp, what’s left to do before game week
“I think the reality of it is you’re never satisfied. I think it’s still a lot of things that we can continue to improve on, but I think the one thing that I am excited about is what I mentioned when I came the first time we had this press conference (at the start of fall camp). It’s just our depth, overall depth. I know we talked a lot about our front and all the moving parts that we have there. But as I said earlier, I feel really good about the linebacker position. I think we got a lot of guys that we can plug and play. And then with the secondary, we’re young, but I think we’re talented. We talked about Boo Carter, we talked about Jakobe Thomas. But there’s a lot more guys that are going to come in and play this season as well. So I think just the overall depth that we have, that we can get a lot of guys in and give guys opportunities to showcase their skillset.”
On Andre Turrentine saying being patient helped his development, how he has seen that work from a coach’s viewpoint
“I don’t know how patient any of these guys are. I think if (you left it) up to ‘Dre, he would’ve been starting the first year. But he has worked hard. He has never wavered. He has always been a strong personality back there, a quarterback of the defense. And whether he was third string, second string or first string, he’s always had the great intent to practice hard and be prepared when his opportunity came. So I’m happy for him. He’s worked really hard and he’ll have a chance to showcase his skillset this season.”
On Tennessee players that benefit from playing opposite of James Pearce Jr.
“It starts with Josh Josephs, obviously. He’s played a ton of football around here. We’re really excited about what he brings to the table. God, I don’t want to leave anybody out, but I think that whole room, all those LEOs really got a chance to be special for us. We’ve always tried to rotate those guys a ton. Even last year James rotated a ton, that’s when we had a chance to showcase his skillset. He got better every single game, every single week. We expect the same type of productivity from the backup guys that are rotating in the season as well. But definitely Josh Josephs has had a really good camp for us.”
On how different of a player Tennessee sophomore Caleb Herring is after adding weight
“Man, that’s a great question, man. Sometimes, I don’t even recognize him. He’s always been a long kid, obviously, but now you see the pounds on him. He’s just playing with a lot more speed to power. I expect him to really have a really good year as well. He’s one of the guys we’re talking about. But I think the size, the weight gain, he did it in a positive way. He didn’t rush it. It’s all muscle. So he’s still moving around the way he moved around as a smaller guy, but he’s just doing it with more bulk. So we’re excited for him.”
On how the offense compares to last year with Nico Iamaleava now at quarterback
“I think the offense year in, year out obviously has been really good at what they do. And this year is no different. I think our offensive line is very talented. They’re strong. I love the tackles and the interior guys. But I think when we start talking about Nico, he just has such a strong command, from my perspective, of the offense. He can throw it with the best of him, but if I’m being honest just his sheer size, sometimes I forget how big he is until I get up on him. When he tucks that ball and he starts to run that’s a problem for anybody, particularly us on defense trying to corral that guy. So I think our offense will pick up where they left off the last couple years and they’ll do exactly what they’ve been doing.”
On if he still feels like Tennessee can have the best defensive line in the country
“Yeah. I think, again, just the sheer depth. Hopefully if those guys continue to do what they’ve been doing, we’ll continue to roll them and roll them and there’s no drop off. So they’re exactly where I thought they would be. I love our depth. I think our interior guys are very athletic, but they still have good size to be able to push the pocket. So I think as long as we can keep everybody healthy and continue to roll those guys in, I stand on, we will be really good up front.”
On what gives him confidence that they’ll be better in red zone defense and third-and-long defense
“I think just like anything, every year is a new year but obviously we looked at schematically, personnel, the things we’re asking the guys to do. We’ve obviously made some adjustments, but we think at the end of the day if the guys are able to play within the system, within the frame of the defense we’ll be better, particularly in the red zone. And I think third down for us, you go back and you self scout it— there were some things that I think we could have done better. There were some plays to be made, but we’ve definitely worked really hard this spring and this fall to make sure we’re shoring it up and make sure the guys are in the right spots to do what they need to be doing.”
On what gives him confidence that Christian Harrison can step up and play at STAR this fall
“Christian’s been very consistent this fall camp. I thought he made some strides in the spring, but I thought he really picked it up in the fall. He’s another guy, we talked about Andre and he’s probably another guy that really walked his tail off to put himself in a position to be able to have a bigger role on his team. And I think if he continues to do what he’s doing, I think he’ll be fine. But I just think the overall consistency in which he’s playing, we know exactly what we’re going to get out of him and I’m sure that’ll show up in the games as well.”
On his expectations for the pass defense
“I think we’re really good. I think I can tell guys all the time, it starts with the front. It starts with the back end. Those guys work hand-in-hand. So I think as long as we’re able to do our job on the back end and they’re able to do their job on the front. I think we’ve got a chance to be really good back there.”
On if the potential better pass rush gives them more creativity with the coverages they play in the back end
“I think so. It’s always interesting when you self scout, again, you look at is it the player? Is it the scheme? And I think the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. It’s our job to put them in the best possible situations to execute their job and obviously it’s their job to execute. So I think we’ll be able to do a lot of different things back there. But, again, it’ll be based on who we’re playing, what their expectations are in terms of scheme. We’ll try to take advantage of it.”
On if they show the LEO room the success Byron Young had as a rookie
“We’re really proud of BY. He’s obviously a great ambassador of our program, particularly on defense and what he’s doing in the NFL has been awesome. I think those guys take a lot of pride when they see it. Not just the LEOSs, but our DEnds, our front, everybody on our defense because obviously he’s a tremendous player, but he’s even a better man. So we’re super proud of him. We really are. And I think our LEOs obviously have taken notice. We like to thin we’re preparing those guys for the NFL particularly what we ask them to do and they see him doing it, I’m sure they think they can do it as well and they probably will.”
On potential backups Jordan Matthews and Jalen McMurray
“I think Jalen and Jordan both have been outstanding in camp. We are always trying to get better obviously, but we think those guys have given us enough validation in what they’re doing in practice that they’ll be able to help us on the back end. But again for us we want to stay healthy, when we’ve been healthy on the back end. We’ve been really good there and we think because we can play more guys, it’ll allow us guys to stay healthier coming down the back stretch.”
