Tennessee Vols assistant is already extremely excited about one new addition to football program
Tennessee Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks appears to be extremely excited this week about one of UT's early enrollees. Banks spoke to reporters in Miami on Tuesday (Tennessee arrived in Florida on Christmas Day for their Orange Bowl matchup against Clemson on Friday night) and he was asked about 2023 defensive back John Slaughter. Slaughter, […]
Tennessee Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks appears to be extremely excited this week about one of UT's early enrollees.
Banks spoke to reporters in Miami on Tuesday (Tennessee arrived in Florida on Christmas Day for their Orange Bowl matchup against Clemson on Friday night) and he was asked about 2023 defensive back John Slaughter.
Slaughter, a three-star recruit from Mississippi, arrived at Tennessee last week and he's already practicing with the Vols.
And Banks likes what he sees so far.
"John is exactly who we thought he would be," said Banks on Tuesday. "He's extremely athletic, you know he's long, has what I would consider elite ball skills. I think he has a really bright future. Very athletic. You know obviously, just like most freshmen, [he has] some things he has to get better at."
"But just the short window that we've had him, it's going to be exciting watching him develop."
Slaughter, 6-foot-2/195 lbs, was clearly an underrated player in the 2023 class — the Vols might have found a diamond in the rough.
The Mississippi native was rated as the No. 53 safety in the nation and the No. 583 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. The only other reported SEC offers that Slaughter had were from Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.
Tennessee's biggest weakness in 2022 was easily their pass defense. It sounds like Slaughter could be ready to contribute as a true freshman in 2023 and help improve one of the worst pass defenses in the nation.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
