Watch: Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks Tuesday press conference

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks met with reporters on Tuesday, looking back at the win at Kentucky, previewing the Homecoming game against UConn and updating the progress of the Vols on defense:

Tennessee’s first game without Kamal Hadden

“Obviously Kamal was a big part of what we did the majority of the season. It’s obviously a shame the kid won’t have a chance to finish what he did. But I felt good, the guys played hard. Obviously there’s some things that we can all do better. But I thought overall, I thought those guys competed and obviously gave us a great opportunity to win the game, which we obviously did.”

Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary throwing for 372 yards Saturday night

“We went in the game very deliberate, we knew what they wanted to be. I think they were leading the SEC and yards per carry and we didn’t want to allow those guys to do that. So we had made a conscious effort to take the run away. And you gotta get those guys a lot of credit. The quarterback is a veteran player who made a ton of great throws. But obviously every game’s different. From our perspective, we try to identify what their strengths are. We try to minimize it. So whatever the game plan needs to be to win the game is always what the game plan is, and we felt like we needed to take away the run and we felt like we did a great job that way.”

Tennessee’s pass rush adjusting against different offenses

“I tell those guys all the time, it is a sign of respect when they’re chipping you on the edges. When they’re getting the seven-man protections, things of that nature, there’s gonna be a challenge. I mean, it really is, but when you work as hard as those guys work, when you’re having a season as those guys are having, there are gonna be some challenging games that way. And obviously they did a really good job that way, with their protections. But at the end of the day, we’re gonna continue to, like I said earlier, take away the things that we feel they do best. And then we’ll obviously make adjustments during the course of the game. But gain, UConn is a different animal. They have some things that they do extremely well, working really hard to try to take that away at this point.”

The progress of Tennessee’s young linebackers (Elijah Herring, Arion Carter, Jeremiah Telander)

“They’re coming along. I thought, again, particularly in the run game, those guys were very effective. Obviously in some passing situations, I know there’s some room to improve, but no different than most of the guys in the defense. Again, we had a conscious effort to make sure that we stopped and run and I thought we did that and the young linebackers were a big part of (it).”

What Tennessee’s defense has done this season to be effective against the run

“Stopping the run is a mentality. It’s physicality. It’s obviously guys fitting their gaps and everybody has to play their part. Whether you’re loading the box and asking the corners and safety to play man on the edges, whether you’re slanting and moving the front, it’s just a mentality. We feel like there’s a lot of things that can happen when you have to throw the ball, whether it’s a sack, whether it’s incomplete, whether you pick it off. But they’re running the ball and we can’t stop the run that, that’s always a formula for disaster. So typically when we’ve been good against the run, we’ve come out on top. And that’s just something that we believe in.”

When he started to notice opposing offenses dedicating more blockers to Tennessee’s pass rush

“I think Alabama did a little of it and obviously Kentucky showed more than they had shown in the past. But the chipping we saw probably a little bit from A&M, so probably mid-season. You’re starting to see a lot more of it. The seven-man protection is probably a little bit different. Kentucky did a little bit more than they showed on the tape. But at the end of the day obviously we have to be able to adjust and make adjustments as a coaching staff and obviously the players on the field. But that’s just how it is. If you’re able to affect the quarterback with your (front) four, those guys aren’t dumb, they’re gonna do what they need to do as well to be able to protect their edges. And hats off to Kentucky. I thought they did a good job that way.”