Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks met with the local media on Tuesday morning ahead of the Vols’ matchup against Alabama at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols’ defense is playing at as high a level as anyone else in the country and Banks talked about what’s going right for his unit the first half of the season.
Banks also discussed the strong play of the secondary against Florida, the challenges that Alabama’s offense presents and much more. Here’s everything Banks said.
More From RTI: What Tennessee RB Coach De’Rail Sims Said Ahead Of Alabama Game
On Tennessee having former Washington defensive coordinator William Inge on staff as defensive coordinator, now coaching against former Washington head coach and current Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer
“Yeah, probably (overblown) a little bit. You’re not going go out there and make no tackles or interceptions. Obviously he’s familiar with Coach (DeBoer). But at the end of the day, our guys got to go out there and execute. We’ve talked a little bit about it, but he doesn’t have any more than what we can see on tape, if that makes sense. So it’s great having him. He’s done a tremendous job for us this season. And this game will be no different for him.”
On Tennessee freshman Boo Carter playing well last week against Florida, the progress he has made this season
“Yeah, it is about what you would expect as a freshman. There’s a learning curve for him. There’ve been some really good, some highs. There has obviously been some lows. But the highs have been coming and coming and coming. So he’s right where we hoped he would be. He’s getting better every week. He’s a tremendous talent. He wants to be great. He’s working at it. We’re all obviously really proud of the with the production that he showed this weekend.”
On Rickey Gibson’s play against Florida and the cornerback duo of Gibson and Jermod McCoy
“Honestly, those guys have been playing well all season. Obviously we’re playing a lot of great, talented teams. And those guys are going to make some plays. But I think if you just look at the total body of work, Rickey has been exactly what we hoped he would be. We talk about Jermod and what he brings to the table. And I’m just really proud of those guys. They competed their tails off. And when you get in this league, that’s what’s expected for us to be able to play at a championship level. So we just expect those guys to continue to grow in that area and continue to get better.”
On Tennessee losing senior linebacker Keenan Pili to a torn ACL
“Yeah, you guys know, man, that’s devastating for us, as a program, you know. It’s very rare that you find a great kid but also a great player. And he was having such a great season for us. He’s a smart kid, he’s a leader, you know. My wife went to bed talking about him. She was crushed and she woke up talking about it. So he meant the world to us. He’s just a tremendous kid, tremendous player, great family. It hurts, to be quite honest. Because he put so much work into it, you wanted to see him finish this on his terms.
“But the good news is I know he’s going to respond. And this kid is going to be a leader in the community. And I don’t think his football days are over. He’s that talented. So we pray for him, pray for his family, and we wish him nothing but the best. I know he’ll be with us and will continue to be around the program. But yeah, it was extremely hurtful.”
On how Tennessee’s linebackers handled the Florida game after Pili was injured
“I think as far as on the field, it’s a little bit by committee at this point. Telander has done a tremendous job for us all season in his role. And obviously his role will continue to increase at this point. But (the role of) all the linebackers will. I don’t think you’ll be able to replace KP. I think it’ll be a lot just by committee. And I think those guys are all up for the challenge.”
On if containing Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is accomplished during the week of game prep or on game day
“I think it’s just like anything, when you have a great player, you got to get used to it. You can’t simulate that in practice, just his athleticism, his speed, his strength of his arm. It’s just a lot of things that he brings to the table that’s challenging for a defense. So I think obviously when the game goes and you get a feel for his speed and the way he moves around, we’ll be able to settle in. But he’s definitely a great challenge for us. And I know our kids are excited about the opportunity.”
On which Tennessee players are being Jalen Milroe in practice this week
“Well, yes, there’s a lot of them. But Navy (Shuler has) obviously a really good athlete for us. And he did a really good job for us today, but we’re trying to move different guys there to try to, again, show it to us. But we don’t have one of those guys on our team right now. They’re not going to let us get our guy on that side. So it’s all we got.”
On Christian Charles battling through injuries and being able to get on the field and play well recently
“Man, you just talk about a tremendous worker, a positive kid. He’s been through a lot. I’ll be honest, I’m like a proud dad when I see this kid finally see some fruits of his labor. He’s just a worker. And he started some games around here. People forget that. He started against LSU a couple years ago at corner for us. And he has battled a lot of injuries, but he’s never dropped his head. He has continued to fight. He had a tremendous game for us (against Florida). We wouldn’t have been able to win, and play as well as we did, without him. So I’m just super proud of him and, like he said, like he’ll be the first one to to tell you, his best football is still ahead.”
On Tennessee sophomore linebacker Arion Carter continuing to improve
“It’s just the work behind the scenes. He’s a tireless worker just from the mental perspective, just understanding how teams are going to try to attack us. Not just in the run game, but even in the passing game. So nothing is by accident. He’s a poster child by putting in the extra work mentally. And you’re starting to see us show up week in and week out. He’s only a sophomore, a true sophomore. We think the ceiling is extremely high for him, but we just love the direction he’s headed right now.
On which Tennessee linebacker will use the in-helmet communication with Keenan Pili now out
“Yeah, we bounced around anyway. We haven’t really made a concrete decision on that at this point. But I’m pretty sure it’ll be by committee, just based on who’s in the game and what backers are in the game, so to speak.”
On if the struggles are when there’s more than one player that might be using it
“I don’t know that there is, because we’ve kind of moved it around a ton. We’ve played different linebackers all season. So we’ve had to move it around a little bit. I think it’s just what packages are we in to make sure the right guy has it on is probably the biggest issue. Coach Inge and our staff have done a tremendous job making sure that one guy has it on and it’s the right guy.”
On the Keenan Pili injury happening so early in the Florida game, if that gives them a better picture of the Tennessee linebacker group moving forward
“Yeah, like I said, you can’t replace him, his leadership. And his overall God-given ability. I think it’s just, like I said earlier, it’s just a committee. We try to put guys in the right spots to be successful. How we call the game, what we put on is always key. But we got a good feel for our guys. Like I said, Telander has played a ton of ball, AC has played a ton of ball. Jalen (Smith) has played some ball for us. So we some guys and I’m very confident they’ll be in and ready for the challenge.”
On Tennessee football’s success in the red zone and success stopping opposing offenses on fourth down
“Yeah, I think as far as the red zone goes, the guys are just straining. Whether you’re at midfield, whether you’re at the goal line, we talk about putting the ball down and having a chance to play another snap. And that’s just a mentality thing. As far as the fourth downs go, I think it’s in that same ballpark. If we’re still playing, third down, fourth down, we want to play as hard as we can and we want to try to out-execute people. So to me it’s just a hats off to our defense and just how hard those guys play and how detailed they are in situational football.”
On if Tennessee’s defense is just better in the red zone, or if that can be translated to other parts of the field
“Well, I like to think we just play great defense. But at the end of the day, yeah, you would like them not to be in the red zone. But things happen in the course of the game. I think the biggest issue with not panicking when you get put in those situations. It’s been different years, I’ve been in different places and we’ve been outstanding in the red zone. And obviously this place is no different.”
