Josh Heupel addresses Jeremy Banks absence, impact it had on Tennessee defense in loss to South Carolina

Tennessee was without a key part of its defense on Saturday against South Carolina, as star linebacker Jeremy Banks was not on the field.

The loss of Banks might have had a major impact on the game, as Tennessee’s defense was unable to contain South Carolina in a 63-38 loss. After the game, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel addressed the absence of Banks, saying that he’s hopeful his star linebacker will be back on the field for next week’s regular season finale.

“Yeah, just wasn’t available for this one,” Heupel said of Banks after the game. “Anticipate and hopeful for next week.”

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Tennessee’s defense struggled mightily without Banks

South Carolina’s offense had by far its best game of the season on Saturday, scoring 63 points and gaining 606 total yards. The Gamecocks did not turn the ball over, and held the ball for just under 39 minutes compared to just over 21 minutes for the Vols.

Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 30 of his 37 pass attempts for 438 yards and six touchdowns, while South Carolina added three scores on the ground.

Heupel said that overall, the defense just didn’t play well. Tennessee is going to assess the play of the team’s linebackers after not having Banks this week, and hopefully will use that to help rebound heading into Week 13.

“Well I mean we’ll go back and look at the linebacker play,” said Heupel. “But obviously structurally, defensively we didn’t play as well as we’re capable of tonight.”

Banks is in his fifth season at Tennessee and his third year as a linebacker. Through ten games this season, he has totaled 46 tackles with four tackles for loss, two passes defended, one fumble recovery and one fumble recovery.

Last season, Banks turned into one of the top defensive players in college football after totaling 128 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, one interception and four passes defended.

Tennessee will be on the road next week, as the Vols are set to face off against Vanderbilt in the final week of the regular season. A win would give Tennessee ten on the season, as the Vols look to get back on track as the script flips from the regular season to the postseason.