Tim Banks speaks to confidence of Aaron Beasley, Keenan Pili

A lot of buzz has surrounded the quarterback position and the offense this offseason at Tennessee, but the Volunteers’ defense returns a ton of talent coming off of one of their best seasons to date.

Tennessee returns seven starters on the defensive side of the ball, including their leading tackler from a season ago Aaron Beasley. And as the Vols head into fall camp, defensive coordinator Tim Banks spoke about the growing confidence of his linebacker.

“Yeah I think with Aaron obviously just confidence, and I think honestly he’s always been confident. But I think as the spotlight started to shift toward him a little bit I thought he got more comfortable in that setting,” Banks said.

Beasley has led the Tennessee defense as their middle linebacker for two consecutive seasons now, also tying the team lead for sacks last season with three. He ended last season on a high note earning defensive MVP of the Orange Bowl after recording 12 tackles, two sacks, and a pass breakup, and has been taking on more of a leadership role in his final season with the team according to Banks.

“So he’s been great, I think he’s had a tremendous offseason from a leadership perspective,” Banks said. “I think he feels like he has a voice and people obviously will listen when they see the production he’s put together consistently.”

The Volunteers added another experienced linebacker to pair with Beasley this offseason, landing Keenan Pili out of the transfer portal from BYU where he spent the last five seasons of his career.

“As far as KP goes, he obviously was a great addition to our team this spring,” Banks said. “Just a tremendous young man, tremendous family man. Big, athletic, physical, we’re obviously super excited about watching him continue to develop during camp.”

Pili was the Cougars’ second-leading tackler last season and a two-time captain at BYU, and could be poised to assume more of a leadership role for the Volunteers as well during into fall camp.

“I think all of our team, particularly on our side of the ball, really respects him because of his work ethic. Not really a real vocal person at this point, but I think as he continues to get more comfortable with our team I think you’ll see him become even more vocal,” Banks concluded.

The Volunteers held opponents to just 23.5 points per game last season, their best since Josh Heupel’s arrival ranking fifth in the SEC in 2022. And with two elite players and potential leaders manning their linebacking core, Tennesee’s defense could be even more dangerous this upcoming season.