No team was decimated more by the transfer portal and has fewer scholarships this season than Tennessee, and Coach Banks has played a huge role in changing the culture of Tennessee football in just a few short months in his first season. Going into the season, no one gave the Vols a chance, especially defensively after losing its top three defenders – two of which are starting LBs at other schools. Banks’ leadership has the players at Tennessee believing after everything they went through with the coaching change in January. His unit has overperformed and rank among the top 25 in several categories despite being limited on scholarship numbers. Player development has been huge and the amount of players who are playing the best of their careers defensively has been in large part due to Coach Banks. The team is significantly improved from a season ago defensively.
