What Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks said about facing Syracuse

Everything Tennessee Football defensive coordinator Tim Banks said during his press conference on Tuesday about facing Syracuse on Saturday (Noon Eastern Time, ABC) in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta:

Syracuse starting Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli at QB, what they can learn from his Notre Dame tape

“Yeah, it’s helpful as it can be in terms of watching some Notre Dame tape. Offense is a little bit different in terms of what Syracuse does versus Notre Dame. But you can see the mannerisms. Obviously some of the throws that he’s made, some of the poise that he’s played with. So that’s the only reference we have. We’re just kind of projecting what we think it’ll look like, obviously, with Syracuse. So Syracuse did a tremendous job last year, as everybody knows. I mean, they threw the ball extremely well. Systematically they did a lot of good things to give their quarterback some easy reads, and those guys are super productive. So I think this kid (Angeli) will fall in line very similar to what it looked like last year. And obviously we got to be ready to go down to try to counter it.”

Where Tennessee defensive back Jalen McMurray has grown over the last year, his level of comfort with him

“Man, we’re super excited about McMurray. He’s always been a pros pro. He’s the first one in, last one out type of guy. His leadership skills are off the charts. We love him. We’re extremely hopeful that he’ll be able to take his game to another level based on everything that we saw in the spring, everything that we saw and have seen in camp to this point. So we’re excited for him. I think the versatility he has playing star, playing corner, he’s super smart. And he has really good cover skills. So we think he’s poised for a monster year. 

What he learned about Tennessee’s defense during camp

“I think just the youth and enthusiasm that we have. Obviously we’ve lost some parts, some production, but the thing that I’m super excited about is just the youth. These guys are young, but they’re hungry. We’re extremely athletic in a lot of spots. Obviously you don’t know exactly until you get going. We’ll find out a little bit more this Saturday, but everything they’ve done since spring, since camp, leads me to believe that these guys in the moment won’t be too big for them.”

What he has liked about Tennessee transfer corner Colton Hood this fall

“Very much like (McMurray), just the tenacity that he plays with. He’s a kid that has the ability to play inside for us on some spots. He’s a physical corner. He’s strong. He’s been everything that we hoped he would be. So I think he’s poised as well for a monster year. Obviously we didn’t get him until the fall, but he’s really, really fed in with our culture. He’s hardworking. I can’t really say enough about him. We’re excited for him. Like I said, the versatility that he brings really gives us a chance to utilize his whole skill set.”

What has changed for Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring on the edges

“Yeah, I think with Ross, just overall confidence. He’s stronger, he’s another year in our system. You can see how much stronger he’s gotten. You see it in his play speed. Caleb Herring, we’ve always fought the world of Caleb. He’s healthy now. He’s had a really good summer and fall camp. So I think just both of those guys, they’re long, they’re athletic. Obviously James (Pearce) did a lot of great things for us, but we think those guys will be in the same mode, in terms of production.”

What he’s emphasizing with his Tennessee defense this week 

“Yeah, I think just every day, just our fundamentals and who we are. Obviously we’re getting ready for Syracuse, but at the end of the day, it’s us against us. How we go about our business, how we prepare, how do we live to our standard? Playing tough, playing smart, being relentless in everything we do. So obviously as we get closer to game this week, we concentrate a little bit more on Syracuse, but it’ll be the same thing week in and week out. It’s more about how we execute, how we go about our business than necessarily the opponent.”

The unknowns to start a new seasons, with so much roster changes on both sides

“The first game is always different because you don’t know what kind of adjustments they’ve made, what they’re doing differently. And then you combine that with a lot of different faces and how they’re going to fit in to the scheme. So I think that leads back into my statement earlier. Man, this is more about us and how we, understand where we need to be within the within the framework of our defense because it’s always going to be the unknown. That’s what first games are like. But vice versa, we’ve had some time to really develop some different things that we wanted to do to put guys in different spots. So it’s always  a chess match, if you will. But at the end of the day we’ll always lean back on our training, how we execute.”

What made Syracuse’s offense so good last season

“Yeah, they do a really good job of pushing the ball downfield. The RPO concepts have been really productive for them last year. I thought the wide outs were vertical. Those guys could get by you at any second. And then you combine it with a really strong run game. So you really didn’t see a weakness in terms of how they went about their business offensively. Really good scheme. Really had good players to execute. That’s obviously a recipe for success. So we don’t know how much the scheme will change. I think those guys had great success and great confidence in it. And then it’ll be up to those new guys obviously to execute at the level they executed last year. But we see a good offense every day and practice ourselves and we know we’ll have our work cut out against those guys. But I know our guys are up for the challenge and can’t wait to tee this thing up.”

How proud they are of the growth of talent in the defensive backfield over the last five years

“We’re forever grateful for those guys that decided to stay and work with us. But obviously, we took a hit on depth for a lot of different reasons. So to kind of see how the program has grown. The guys we’ve been able to develop in the program and recruit has been rewarding. I think when you’re at a place like Tennessee, this is an attractive place that people want to be. And we’ve been very fortunate to be able to recruit a lot of good talent back there. And not just there, but all over our team. From offense at different spots, and defensively up front and linebacker. So I just think the program has grown from night and day, from the first year we got here to where we are right now.”

How many safeties Tennessee would like to play, how many they anticipate playing

“I think it’s, you get what you deserve in our defense. That’s kind of our mantra. In a perfect world you would like to play as many guys as you can. We feel really good about the rotation that we developed whether that’s three, whether that’s four — we’ll find out Saturday. But we’re definitely building to be able to have some depth, to be able to not just safety, but corner to linebacker to dline. We’re trying to sustain our depth. The only way to do that is to be able to play some young guys that have earned it during the course of camp, and obviously we’ll find out soon.”

The confidence in Tennessee linebackers Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander

“It’s definitely, a little bit of a safety net for us. The linebackers, they stir the drin so to speak. Those guys are like extensions of us as coaches, being able to communicate up to the front and to the back end. I think Coach Inge has done a really good job with those guys, with their development. So I think being able to make some live adjustments, if need be, whether it’s the second series, third series, first quarter, halftime. I think those guys will be up for the challenge just because of the experience that they’ve played with and the way they’ve earned and the way they’ve gone about their business during camp.”

Rickey Gibson, his importance against Syracuse’s offense

“I thin for Rickey, you know, Rickey’s grown. He’s stronger. He’s in his third year, I think, in our program. So we’re obviously expecting a lot of him, just in general. I think he’s really taking ownership to be a even more vocal within that room. We do have some youth there, but, yeah,  we expect Rickey to pick up where he left off last season. He’s had a really good camp. Obviously, when you’re good at corner, it sets the table for everything else you want to do defensively. Rickey’s a big part of us being able to do that.”