Tim Banks provides assessment of Tennessee’s defense ahead of first game

Tim Banks provides assessment of Vols’ defense ahead of first game.

On what he’s seen from Juwan Mitchell

“(Juwan) is a go-go guy. He goes extremely hard. You see him start to settle in, how we do things and how we go about our business. He’s a football player. He loves to play when he’s between those lines. He’s a physical kid, probably runs a little better than we thought on tape, so we’re excited to see what he does on Thursday. He’s been a guy who’s playing really hard for us and playing fast. He looks like a linebacker.”

On the adjustments required to avoid targeting penalties

“It’s always tough. Refs have a tough job. But at the end of the day, if they’re going to err, they’re always going to err on safety. Which for us in this game of football, we all want guys to be able to go home afterwards and see their loved ones. I played defensive back. I understand how hard it is, but at the end of the day, we’re going to do what’s best for the game of football. We’re going to try to teach it the right way, and hopefully we can execute it the right way and let the chips fall where they may.”

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