Tim Banks on Elijah Herring: Love his size, mentality

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks recently joined Eric Cain in an interview to discuss all things Vols on the defensive side of the football ahead of the 2022 season. During their conversation, Banks singled out several individual players that he’s seen a lot from over the course of the spring and summer. One of which is incoming freshman Elijah Herring, a three-star in-state linebacker in the ’22 class per the On3 Consensus. Herring enrolled early and is already impressing Banks with his size and approach to practice.

Here were Banks comments regarding the true freshman and what he’s shown early on:

“We love his size. We love his mentality. He’s a guy who’s never satisfied, you know. He’s one of those guys you have to kick out the weight room, kick off the field. He just wants to be good. That starts with his upbringing and how he’s raised and how important football is to him.”

Banks then re-emphasized Herring’s impressive size. But noted it may take time before he’s ready to play big snaps.

“The next thing you think about to me is just his size. He’s a big, strong, strapping linebacker who still has some athleticism. Again, wasn’t ready coming out of spring. But as he continues to work at it, we think the sky’s the limit with him. It won’t surprise me if he’s fighting for some playing time this year.”

Banks lauds development of DB Christian Charles

During that same interview, Cain wondered about Christian Charles, a promising defensive back who showed flashes on special teams last season.

According to Tim Banks, Charles is an extremely versatile piece that he believes will see ample playing time for the Orange this fall. Here’s what he had to say regarding the DB:

“He gives us a great deal of flexibility. A lot of it depends on how some other guys come along. Whether we’re playing him at safety or playing him at corner. We just think he’s a kid who’s smart, runs well, has some physical traits on the hash and obviously at the corner position. We won’t decide exactly where he is to be honest until we come out of camp. But the fact that he took some significant snaps at corner during the spring, obviously played a great role on our special teams last season and played some snaps at safety.”

“He’s just one of those kids that it’s going to be hard to keep him off the field. Whether he’s at corner or whether he’s at safety just because of his work ethic, how smart he is and the physical style in which he plays with.”

Sounds like a breakout is in store for the young Vols DB.