Tim Banks cites depth as a strength for Tennessee defense
Tim Banks is back for his third season as Tennessee‘s defensive coordinator. However, there’s something different about the Volunteers’ defense this year.
“The depth,” Banks said on Thursday. “We have a lot of guys who have played some football around here and we got a good blend of some young guys. Some of the early enrollees who just got here, and some of the the guys who were freshmen last year, who played a small role. We expect those guys to play a larger role this season.
“We feel really good that we should be able to rotate a lot of guys and give a lot of guys opportunities that they’ve earned in camp. It’s exciting to be quite honest with you. It’s exciting to know you could roll different guys out there and try to keep those guys as fresh as we possibly can.”
Tennessee’s defense needed a change. The Volunteers gave up 405.3 yards per game last season, ranking 91st in the country. According to ESPN, Tennessee returns 69% of its production from last season, the 44th-most nationally.
As Banks mentioned, Tennessee’s returners won’t be the program’s only contributors. The Vols brought in 26 freshmen this season. Over 50% of those first-year Volunteers’ will be under Banks’ jurisdiction on defense.
To pile on, UT folded in five defensive transfers this offseason, headlined by BYU transfers linebacker Keenan Pili and cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally. With so much talent at practice, Tennessee’s defense will be hardened before UT ever kicks off the regular season.
“You want to get better. You need guys that can compete You don’t want guys getting comfortable,” Banks said. “Whether you’re talking about the back end or whether you’re talking about the linebacker position, we just feel like we have more guys that are able to compete and challenge each other and help each other get better.”
Josh Heupel praises Tennessee’s defense
UT’s defense has improved each season head coach Josh Heupel has been at the helm of the program. Heupel believes this season will be no different. When asked if the defense will be better this season, Heupel showed absolute confidence.
“It will be,” Heupel said in May during an appearance on Josh & Swain. “We took a step in Year 1 to Year 2. You look at how we defended the run, our success creating zero to negative-yard plays, top in the conference. The year before we had made some strides.”
Fans won’t have to wait long to see if Heuepel was bluffing. On Sept. 2, the Vols will begin the 2023 in a matchup against the Virginia Cavaliers.