Tennessee DC Tim Banks explains a major reason for Vols' success in 2024
The Tennessee Vols' defense has undoubtedly come to the rescue for the team in 2024, particularly over the last few weeks. The unit, anchored by a strong and deep defensive line, has been far and away the most productive unit on the team in SEC play. But it's not that the Vols have kept other […]
The Tennessee Vols' defense has undoubtedly come to the rescue for the team in 2024, particularly over the last few weeks. The unit, anchored by a strong and deep defensive line, has been far and away the most productive unit on the team in SEC play.
But it's not that the Vols have kept other teams off the scoreboard – no SEC team has reached 20 points against the Vols this season – but it's about how they've managed to do it – winning at crucial moments during the game, particularly on fourth down and inside the red zone.
That was fully on display in the Vols' 23-17 win over the Florida Gators in overtime last Saturday. Florida had 4 trips into the red zone, and they only came away with 3 points. One of those red zone successes was on a fourth down stop, when CB Rickey Gibson tackled Florida's Trey Wilson for a loss on 4th and 1.
Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks talked on Tuesday about the way his team has been performing in those clutch situations.
"I think, as far as the redzone goes, the guys are just straining, whether you're in a big field or whether you're in the goal line. We talk about putting the ball down and having a chance to play another snap. That's just a mentality thing. As far as the fourth downs go, I think it's in that same ballpark. If we're still playing third down, fourth down, we want to play as hard as we can. We want to try to outexecute people. To me, it's just a hats off to our defense and how hard those guys play and how detailed they are in situational football."
Of course, the key is to also try to keep other teams out of the red zone, something the Vols could have done a better job of on Saturday against Florida, who totaled 361 yards of offense despite scoring just 17 points.
"I like to think we're just playing great defense, but at the end of the day, yeah, you'd like for them not to be in the redzone, but things happen over the course of the game. I think the biggest issue is not panicking when you get put in those situations. There's been different years, when I've been at different places, and we've been outstanding in the redzone, and obviously this place is no different."
Still, as much as the Vols' offense kept putting its own defense back on the field on Saturday night time and again, perhaps that's not all that bad of a yardage performance after all from Banks' unit.
Now, Jalen Milroe and the Alabama Crimson Tide come to town on Saturday. The challenge goes up a notch, particularly on the defensive side of the ball for Tennessee. The Crimson Tide will move the ball some. The key to whether Tennessee can escape with a second straight home win against the Tide is whether the Vols' defense can continue to be clutch in the most important moments of the game.
It sounds like, at least, Banks' players have the right mentality to go out and continue the trend of shutting the door when opposing teams get near their end zone.
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