Everything Tennessee Football defensive coordinator Tim Banks said on Tuesday

Everything Tennessee Football defensive coordinator Tim Banks said during his press conference on Tuesday ahead of this week’s game against New Mexico State, speaking for the first time since fall camp in August:

How he would asses Tennessee’s defense through nine games

“Yeah, this obviously been a tale of some highs and some lows. Some things we’ve done really well, and obviously some things you want to do better. But we got three games left. As I tell guys all the time, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. I think we made some strides. I think some of the younger guys have grown up. And I’m looking forward to getting this next one on Saturday.”

If Tennessee tackled better against Oklahoma, what the Vols did differently and how they can build on it

“Yeah, again, I like to think we’ve emphasized it since I’ve gotten here. We haven’t gotten the fruits of our labor, obviously, in a lot of games. So you should continue to coach it, continue to coach the details, continue to put them in some situations where they can learn from it. But, yeah, I’m extremely proud of the way those guys tackled Saturday night. And like I said, at the end of the day, hopefully we can build on it. We have to build on it, to be what we want to be as the season comes down the back stretch.”

If the change in Tennessee’s defense from last season to this season can be explained by change in personnel, going from being an older defense to a younger defense 

“Well, again, I think you hit it on the head. I couldn’t tell you exactly what we are (statistically) different than last year. I think at the end of the day, we’re coaching, we’re trying to continue to get these guys better. We like our personnel. We have some really good young guys that are going to be really good players here at the University of Tennessee. We obviously haven’t gotten results, week in and week out, that we desire. But at the end of the day, man, we love our guys. We’re going to continue to push them, continuing to put them in some situations where they can be successful. And I think that’s what coaches are all about. So, would we like to be better in some games, 1,000%, no doubt, no different than last year. We wanted to do better in some spots. But I love these guys. And I’m excited about the future, obviously starting with Saturday.” 

How much injuries to Tennessee corners Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson changed the defense this season

“Well, it hurts me for those guys. I mean, Ricky Gibson was prime to have a monster year for us and build on the success he had. Obviously, we talked about Jermod, so yeah, you would love to have them. But it just broke my heart for those guys who won’t be able to have a season that we know they were capable of having. But a setback for one is an opportunity for another,  and we like the direction that Ty Redmond is headed. He’s a true freshman that has played a lot of ball around here, probably more ball than any corner as a freshman who has, at least since I’ve been here. And we think the sky is the limit for him. Obviously playing in the SEC is a little bit of a challenge, but I mean, Tennessee is going to really be happy they got this kid in a couple of years. And (Colton) Hood has done a tremendous job just as a competitor. We love what he’s brought to the table. So, yeah, we would love to have those guys because again, they’re just great kids that are obviously great players, but we’re happy with the guys we have. And we’ll continue to push those guys to be the best versions of themselves.”

The progression of Tennessee safety Edrees Farooq this season 

“Yeah, he’s coming along. Edress is a kid that did really well for us in special teams last year. Was thrust into starting role early this year and he’s done nothing but get better week in and week out. He’s what you’re looking for as far as a kid. He’s a smart kid. He’s very conscientious. He wants to do things the right way. Again, he’s a true sophomore who hadn’t started a game in his career, but he’s come along. Like I said, I don’t know exactly what the stats say in terms of his tackles, but when I look at the tape with my eye, I know that kid’s getting better and I think his future is bright as well.” 

The biggest challenge of managing Tennessee’s defense this season

“Yeah, I don’t know that it’s one thing. I think when you’re dealing with some inexperience every week’s a new week. Every opportunity is an opportunity for those guys to learn. Communication, I think those guys have worked really hard about, particularly talking about the safety spot and even your nickel, those guys being able to communicate at a high level is extremely important. We referenced tackling earlier, not being able to tackle it to the clip you want to tackle at. But the thing that I’ll always dig my feet in the ground, these guys are working at it. As long as they continue to work, fight, scratch, and I’m ten toes down with these guys and that’s what they’ve done. Those guys are coming to work every day, trying to get better, working and trying to give us what we asked for. And like I said, if they keep doing that, I think we’ll like the results sooner or later.”

The recurring negative themes on defense

“Again, I think continuing to tackle better is extremely important. Obviously, you want to be better in the red zone, keep guys from scoring points, but I don’t know that there’s one thing that I can say definitively. We live and die one game at a time. When you either play good enough to win or you didn’t. So we obviously didn’t play good enough this last week to win. We got to play a lot better this week and come back with a victory. So, yeah, we’ll deep dive it and figure it out and see where we need to go, how we can improve, how we can coach better, how we can play better, but right now, this is a one-game season for us. We’re doing everything we can to get ready to finish.”

Jadon Perlotte’s progression with Arion Carter banged up

“We force-fed Perlotte a ton. You guys have seen the flashes. He can run, he’s long. Obviously, AC is a guy that’s been battle-tested, played a lot of football around here. So I think him seeing the way AC works, that’s invaluable. But I think a lot different from some of the other guys I’ve talked about, man, when you look at this kid a year from now, sheesh, you get the weight on, continue to get stronger, another year in the system, I think this kid will be as good as some of the backers we’ve had here in a long time. But there’s a learning curve. But I do think having (Jeremiah) Telander around, (Edwin) Spillman, obviously, AC, you know, Perlotte, Harmon, all those guys being able to see how those guys work, how they go about their business, just gonna pay dividends in the future.”

Tennessee’s pass rush this season

“I think Josh Josephs has done some good things. When you look at Jordan (Ross) or even Caleb (Herring), those guys have kind of been in the force in our past rush. I think Dom Bailey has done some good things. We had some chances on the edge, but, obviously, we compare a lot of it to what we did last year and when we rushed, a lot of those guys were part of that. So, we’ll continue to coach it, continue to get better at it, but obviously we want to continue to go there. “