Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks met with the local media on Tuesday morning following the Vols’ dominant defensive performance against NC State last Saturday.
The Vols allowed just 143 yards of total offense while dominating the game up front with 13 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Banks discussed the growth of the defensive line, what he’s seen from the secondary and much more. Here’s everything Banks said on Tuesday.
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On if the Tennessee defense has exceeded his expectations through two weeks
“Yeah, I don’t know about exceeded, but we’re definitely playing hard. Like I tell guys all the time, we’ve been building this thing since day one, since we got here. I got a really good staff, we got good kids playing hard. And I wasn’t surprised how hard we played. Still obviously a lot of things we want to get better, everything we need to improve on. But our standard is our standard in terms of how hard we want to play and how tough we want to be, you know? So as long as we continue to do that, we think we got a chance to continue to build.”
On Tennessee being able to rotate so much on the defensive front and if that has been the best-case scenario through two games
“Absolutely. We had a plan going into this fall that we wanted to play a lot of guys at every position. Honestly, if the guys work hard, we want to get them what they deserve, so to speak. So we think our front is our strength just based on the sheer number of guys that we got that we feel like can play at a high level. So that’s who we want to be. That’s who we wanted to be day one when we got here. And we’re finally being able to show that.”
On if this much rotating is what Tennessee wants to do all season on defense, not just early on
“Yeah. That’s our plan. As long as guys continue to play the standard that we talked about earlier, playing fast, tough, smart, all those good things, they’ll continue to play. We got a lot of good guys there. We got a great mixture of youth and some of these veteran guys that obviously have been around here. So as long as these guys continue to play hard, they’ll continue to play.”
On what it says about Tennessee’s defense that it hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdowns over the last three games
“Well, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know that. I tell our guys all the time, we in the next game mentality. Every game is different. We just want to go out there and be the best that we can be every single rep. As cliche as that sound, that’s the honest to God truth. I don’t look at stats. I told you guys that when I first got here. I had no idea. We just know from snap to snap, we want to be at our best and if that’s what the result is, then so be it.”
On Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili finally getting a chance to show what he can do
“Well, I’ll tell you, that’s a great question. For me, it was very satisfying. He’s a kid that has worked his tail off. He got hurt early in the season last year and I know how tough that was for him. But he stayed locked in, stayed with the team, continued to push guys and learn our defense. So to finally see him see the fruits of his efforts, man, listen, I feel like a proud dad, to see him go out there and do what he did. He’s a big athlete. We knew that. He’s got great stamina. We think he’s only going to get better as he continues to grow in his defense. So we’re excited for him.”
On players like James Pearce affecting the game for Tennessee even without recording sacks
“Yeah. I think for me, once again, I didn’t even know that. That James didn’t have a sack. Because James is playing extremely hard for us. He’s getting a lot of attention, just like we thought he would. So I think as long as he continues to work hard and play hard, I think the sacks will come. If he hasn’t pouted about it. He hasn’t said one word about it. I think he’s satisfied that we’re winning. We’re obviously playing at a high level and as long as everybody’s doing that, nobody cares. He gets quote-unquote the statistics.”
On what he’s liked about the secondary through two games
“They’ve been really good. I think that’s again another great point. Those guys are really athletic back there and they can run, again, inexperienced, obviously haven’t played a ton of football, but I think where they lack just the experience they make up with sheer athleticism, but those guys have been very competitive. We’ve been able to rotate some guys in that position as well. We think, again, as long as they continue to grow, week in, week out. We think those guys got a chance to really be good here and give us something to be really proud of on that back end.”
On what he’s seen from Arion Carter
“For me, I think I may have told you guys this, the biggest growth I’ve seen from him is just his football IQ. He was a freshman last year, obviously, he played a lion share running back in high school. So to see the growth that he has at linebacker has been amazing for me. He’s always been a good athlete. He’s always played hard but him being able to play a step quicker because he understands how offenses are trying to attack us. So I’ve been very pleased, just again, his overall football IQ. He’s blessed with athleticism, but he has really worked hard to make sure he understands not only our defense, but how our opponents are trying to attack us.”
On what he’s seen from Boo Carter and Christian Harrison at STAR
“I think same thing. We’re really athletic in that spot. We’re a little green, neither one of those guys played a ton of football, obviously collegiately, at the STAR position so to speak. But the athleticism shows up, when we bring those guys occasionally we’ve seen some, some effort there and the results that we want when we’re blitzing those guys. I think the more they play again we continue to see different sets and guys trying to attack them differently. I think they’ll continue to grow, but right now I’m really pleased that what we’re getting from the STAR position.”
On where Tyre West has grown
“I think along the lines of what I said with AC (Arion Carter). The mental part of it, understanding leverage and being where he is supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there. He’s always been a really good athlete. He’s always played with great motor. I mean, he’s in tremendous shape right now. He’s playing extremely hard, but I just like the details that he’s playing with to this point.”
On the in helmet communication, finding the right balance
“Great question. It’s a work in progress. I’m one of the guys— I try not to over coach them and give them a chance to play, and different teams are different. Just how much time is left to be able to give them the information that you want to give them. But, like I said, KP, he’s a pro. He works at it. The communication that we have had has been good. But I think every game’s a little bit different. I think the first game was okay, I thought it was better this game and hopefully the next game, this weekend, will be even better.”
On players playing hard in the final minutes of a blowout
“The standard is the standard. We’ve been saying that since we’ve been here. When the guys are in the game, we’ve always played vertical. We try to give those guys an opportunity to play. We want to see the same results, want the guys to play within the framework of the defense, and if that gives a chance to play on the other side of the line scrimmage, then so be it. But yeah, it was encouraging to be able to put those guys in there and guys not busting and guys know what they’re doing and more importantly, playing hard.”
On having 13 tackles for a loss against NC State
“Yeah, I mean, I think it just speaks more to just playing hard again. You know, that standard’s been the same since we stepped in the room. You know, when I took the job three or four years ago, we wanted to play great defense here. You know, people said it would be a challenge for us. For me personally, I never run from a challenge. We wanted that. I’ve been blessed enough to be in a lot of programs and we’ve been able to play great defense and I knew if we had a chance to continue to grow this program, we would play great defense. But I always tell guys, at the end of the day, again, it is game by game. We know what that is. But, you know, to this point, the guys are playing to the level we thought they would play.”
On freshman DB Edrees Farooq
“Yeah, he’s a super-smart kid. You know, we really had to force feed him to play both sides. He’s played field safety, boundary safety for us and even played him a little bit of Star in practice. I just love his instincts. He’s always a hundred miles an hour. Like I tell him, every open field tackle doesn’t have to be a knockout shot, you know. I think he’s starting to learn that. He wants to be able to play under control. But man, we get him close to the box, he’s extremely efficient. He’s got good footwork, he’s a willing tackler, he’s aggressive. But I think the main thing, the main strength that I love, that he’s coachable and he’s extremely smart.”
On Will Brooks’ pick six and how it’s important to score on defense
“It’s always important. God is good, brother. Seeing Brooks do what he did, knowing where he’s coming from, it was really satisfying as a coach. The kid works extremely hard, whether it’s special teams or as a rotational guy, to being a starter. He’s always been the same. He’s extremely hard, so for him to make that play and give us a boost on defense, was really satisfying for me. I’m just happy for him.”
