Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks previews Citrus Bowl against Iowa

Everything Tennessee football defensive coordinator Tim Banks said Friday morning while meeting with reporters and previewing Monday’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl matchup against Iowa at Camping World Stadium in Orlando:

Opening Statement

“Super excited to be here. We wanna thank the Citrus Bowl for having us. I can tell you our families and all the players have had a tremendous time here in Florida, in Orlando. So we’re thankful for this opportunity, And we’re definitely looking forward to taking on a really good Iowa team this Monday.”

The challenges they think Tennessee’s defense can present the Iowa offense, how much the Vols can pressure the quarterback

“We’re obviously always trying to apply some pressure when we can. One of the things that makes Iowa unique is  they’re very rarely off schedule. They work really hard to stay on schedule, I should say. So we gotta we gotta do a great job stopping the run, putting ourselves in a situation to be able to rush the passser.

And so right now, our main priority is making sure that we put ourselves in the situation that would give us a chance to hopefully try to apply some pressure.”

Tennessee dealing with so many defensive backs entering the NCAA Transfer Portal the last few weeks

“I think the keyword is opportunity. Obviously, we’ve had some transition back there. We wish those guys the best and we’re super happy for the guys that are here. So they’re gonna be great opportunities. Some guys that play some, some not, that I haven’t played at all. At the end of the day we believe in the standard regardless of who’s out there. So we’re looking forward to watching the performance Monday. I know these guys have worked really hard and every single person in that room believes in them. And we’re looking forward to watching them perform this Monday.”

The development of Tennessee linebacker Elijah Herring this season and where he can improve 

“Elijah has has had some challenges, obviously, but he’s really done some really good things for us as well. I think at the end of the day he’s a guy who hadn’t played a ton a year prior. Was kind of forced a little bit, starting line up because of injuries early. But I thought week in and week out, he worked his tail off to put himself in the best possible position to be successful. So we love the kid. He’s one of the hardest workers on our team. And I think just like everybody, he has things that he can continue to grow in. And I think he’s really fighting to do that. So we’re excited for him. This obviously will be a great challenge for him, but I know he’s up for it. It’ll be fun.”

What has made Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce so successful this season and his upside moving forward

“I think the the sky is the limit for James. He’s a tremendous worker for us. We recruited him, we knew he had a tremendous upside. Good size, good length, I should say. But he’s worked really hard to put on a proper weight, to get stronger. Extremely athletic. I think he’s just scratching the surface on how good he can be. He’s obviously made a name for himself as a rusher. But I think he has a lot more versatility that we’re gonna work really hard in the next coming months to make sure that we continue to grow his game. So we’re excited for them. It’s hard to find that type of size with that type of athleticism. And we feel very fortunate to have them part of our program. To watch them grow from the first day he stepped on campus to where we are right now, just makes us extremely proud of the kid.”

Aaron Beasley’s Tennessee career, his leadership and the dynamic he brings at linebacker

“I think that last statement, a leader. He’s worked really hard. I wouldn’t say he’s the loudest guy when you walk in the room, but I think you can see it in his play, how hard he works, the way the guys respond to him when he does speak to him. So it it’s just been awesome. You love to see guys grow and develop and to see where he is right now, we couldn’t be more proud of him. Tremendous worker, instincts off the chart. We’re definitely looking forward to watching him run the team one more time and put it on stage this Monday.”

What Jaylen McCollough has meant to the Tennessee football program, making his 51st start for the Vols on Monday

It’s been awesome. It’s like having another coach on the field. Extremely bright. Just a pleasure to work with. He’s one of those guys who really loves the game. He’s a guy that text you asking you about different plays in the middle of the night. It’s been awesome. I didn’t even realize it was so many (starts) to be quite honest, which someone brought it to my attention a couple weeks ago. So we’re proud of him. I think it says a lot about him as a man and his durability and being able to fight through some some bumps and bruises. So we’re excited for him. Not only has he been a tremendous player on the field, but definitely a great locker room teammate and a guy that we enjoyed coaching through this ride.”

Tennessee’s new-look secondary matching up against Iowa’s passing game

“We’re confident in our whole team. Like I said earlier, the standard is the standard, as cliche as that may sound. We’ve preached that from the beginning of the camp to obviously the bowl game. Regardless who’s in the game, there’s a certain level of expectations that come with stepping out on that field. And those guys understand that. And you throw all our records out in thinking the stats and all that stuff. These guys have had a couple weeks to get ready to work on things that they needed to improve on that was different than us. So we’re gonna go out there and put our best foot forward and do everything we can to try to get this victory. And I think those guys have worked their tail off, or they’ve been working their tail off, and they’re excited about that challenge. And we will go out there and fight and and try to get this victory.”

What the month of December is like for a college football coach, preparing for a bowl game, recruiting and dealing with the NCAA Transfer Portal

“It’s definitely challenging. This is different for me. I’ve been doing this for a couple decades and this is obviously a new landscape for everybody. But it is what it is. You have to be able to navigate through it. I think the programs that will continue to grow, it’ll be the programs that handle it the best. Like I said earlier, we love our guys and the guys that are here. And we wish the guys that left the best. But it’s just the nature of the beast right now. But it’s it’s been really busy. It’s a lot going on. Obviously coaching your team. Obviously, recruiting. But at the end of the day, the University of Tennessee is a great place to be. We don’t have any issues getting guys that wanna be here. There are a lot of players who wanna be here. There’s a lot of guys that are already here. We’re definitely excited about the ones we got and the ones who want to be here.”

This bowl game being a head start for Tennessee’s new-look secondary heading into the 2024 season, how it’s similar to Nico Iamaleava getting his first start at quarterback

“It’s the same. Anytime you get a chance to get some reps under your belt, a chance to build upon it. Game reps are obviously different than practice reps and having a chance to do it in the Citrus Bowl, on this type of stage, definitely valuable experience. And those guys can build upon it heading to the spring and obviously the fall. So, yea’, it’ll be great for those guys to go out there and and cut their teeth and get this thing going, to give them springboard to build upon it. Absolutely.”

What Tennessee has seen from an Iowa tight end group that is dealing with injuries

“Versatility is the first thing that comes to mind. Those guys are obviously really good in the run game. With the way they move them around and get them as a focal point in a lot of the pass games, it’s been impressive. Obviously, I’ve seen Iowa from back in the day, other places I’ve been. So they have a great tradition at tight end. So anybody that they recruited to play tight end was probably pretty good at their high school. So they got our respect. The way they block and the way they use those guys in the passing game. We know there’s gonna be a great challenge for our ‘backers and our safeties in terms of the matchups in the pass game. And then obviously in the run game with some of our edge guys being able to defeat some of their (blocks). It’s a challenge and we’re definitely looking forward to it.”

How he would assess the performance of the Tennessee defense as a whole this season 

“Obviously our goal is to win every single game. Win every single one of them. There are things that you wanna improve on. But at the end of the day, we felt like we made some great strides. We thought we had a very good senior leadership, and we felt like we did a lot of things to help this team move the needle in the right direction. So, yeah, I’m excited about it. I really am. I think we’ve played really good defense most of the year. Obviously, when you don’t win them all, you’re disappointed. I think we’ll take time, obviously, after the season, take a deeper dive, exactly when we can improve and continue to grow. But overall, we felt like we played outstanding.”