Watch: Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks' Tuesday press conference

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks talked to the media Tuesday, looking back his Tennessee defense in the 49-13 win over Virginia on Saturday and previewing this week’s game against Austin Peay at Neyland Stadium:

Seeing his Tennessee defense on the field for the first time this season, his biggest takeaways from the Virginia game

“I thought, number one, the guys were excited to play, which obviously we had good camp but it was obviously a long camp. Had been building this thing for a while. So just the overall excitement. I thought the overall intensity that is required to play great defense was there. I thought the guys were really intent on doing their job and straining. And then third, it was great to be able to get multiple guys opportunities on the field. And every rep was so valuable. Those reps some of those younger guys got, we believe will pay great dividends for them later.”

What Tennessee coaches thought of the play of Elijah Herring and Arion Carter in the first game

“I thought it was good. Like I said, number one, just getting good healthy reps. For AC, his first collegiate game opportunity, just like any freshman there’s some things that we know he’ll continue to grow in and get better at. But just having an opportunity to see him fly around was great. As far as Elijah goes, he’s obviously played some football for us last year, but just to see his growth and his maturity on display, we’re really pleased with what they did Saturday.”

Tennessee’s defensive communication in Week 1 and if there were any busts and what he thought of the pass rush up front

“I thought it was great. I thought the guys for the most part did a really good job communicating sets — backfield, down and distance, all the situational communication that’s necessary. I thought those guys were great in that regard. But to sit here and say we didn’t have any busts, I’ve never coached a game (like that). I’m hoping. But yeah, it was some things that obviously we needed to do better from a communication standpoint, but I thought overall it was great. As far as the pass rush goes, that’s obviously been an area of emphasis for us since we’ve gotten here. We feel like we’ve got some young guys that are quickly developing at a high rate. And obviously some guys that have been here continue to grow in that role as well. So we’re by no means a finished product. We definitely like the start that we had last Saturday.”

How Tennessee’s Tyler Baron is different on the field this season compared to last year

“I think it’s just, I can tell (with) anyone, it’s just being healthy. Tyler’s healthy. He’s always had the potential to be one of the elite players in this conference. And having a chance to keep him healthy is job number one for us and for him as well. And I think as long as he stays healthy and stays with the mindset and the intent that he has, we expect him to have a tremendous season for us moving forward.”

What he saw from Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. off the edge against Virginia and how confident he is that he can see that consistently

“Obviously we’re very confident in James. His growth has been great for us. We saw it last year, him starting to make some strides and he made some even better strides during the spring. So we’re not surprised with the display that he put on this weekend. But just like I told him, I’ll tell you the same, nobody caress after the first game. You gotta continue to put it on tape, week in and week out. And it’s not just him, but everybody on the defense. But we’re excited about him. That’s why we recruited him. He’s a great kid who’s only gonna get better. And I think he’ll be the first one to tell you that.”

Tennessee’s young defensive players getting a chance to play at Neyland Stadium on Saturday against Austin Peay, what Arion Carter and Elijah Herring bring to the defense

“I think very rep is valuable. Obviously, it was a great play in Nissan Stadium, but get a chance to get back to Neyland is something that everybody’s fired up for. Obviously Austin Peay is coming in here, we have a great deal of respect for people that are in our state. A lot of players in this state, obviously on that team. So we know we’re gonna have our hands full just to defend these guys and play at the level that we need to play at. As far as Arion and Elijah, what they bring to the table individually, I would say with AC just sheer athleticism. You guys know his story, obviously a running back in high school and started trending as a linebacker late in his career. So he’s still learning, but just his overall athleticism, his ball awareness,things that are hard to teach. We think as he continues to get reps, he continues to develop, he has a chance to be a really good player in this league. As far as Elijah goes, he’s a classic Mike ‘backer. He’s got great size for the position, he’s extremely physical. As he continues to learn the position, we saw flashes of it Saturday. Just the growth in terms of knowing what to expect and being the right places at the right time. Just overall size he brings to the position, particularly with some of the pressure that we run. We’d like to think that we got a chance to win versus some of the backs that we’ll see.”

What Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili did to earn a game ball against Virginia

“Just everything that he brought to practice since he’s been here. Just great leadership, communication, which was talked about earlier. Just having the ability to command the defense. Making sure the front is where needs to be, communicating with (Aaron) Beasly. Making sure everybody’s where they need to be at all times is the number one thing. And just his overall physicality with the size that he has. You want big guys, but obviously in this day and age you have to be able to function in space and he’s able to do those things for us, so we’re very pleased with what he brought, just his overall toughness and smart and communication skills. We’re excited for him. We really are.”

His thoughts on the play of the deeper rotation players in the Tennessee secondary

“We tried to play a bunch of guys. That’s kind of been our mantra. We’re gonna play great defense here and we’re gonna recruit at a high level. And the more guys that we can get out there to play, the better it is for our program moving forward. So we had a chance to get a couple more guys in. I think Dre (Andre Turrentine) got some reps and I think we got Jourdan, Thomas some reps. And we’ll continue to move in that direction. Because again, it’s a long season, it’s a tough conference. So the more we can get guys opportunities to play, the better it is for us. But we love Wes (walker), obviously we love Tank (Jalen McCollough) and what those guys bring to the table. Even T-Mac (Tamarion McDonald). But at the end of the day, to ask those guys to play a hundred snaps of game is not in our best interest. We recruited these guys for a reason, we’re developing these guys for a reason, and as long as they continue to show it in practice, we’re gonna get those guys in the games.”

What Will Brooks has done to earn playing time in the Tennessee secondary

“Will’s been very consistent for us since I’ve been here, quite honestly. He’s played both safety positions, he’s played the star position for us. He’s just a guy we trust. We know exactly what we’re going get when we put him in the game. He’s gonna execute the call to the best of his ability. And that’s really what we look for as coaches. Definitely want guys to be able to make plays and we believe he can as well, but before you make a play, you gotta make sure you’re not giving up plays. And that’s definitely what he brings, that’s one of his strengths. So it was great to get him in there and he did not disappoint.”