Tennessee football: 10 Vols most likely to win postseason awards in 2022
Pick Analysis. Linebacker. r-Senior. Jeremy Banks. 6. player. 839. Scouting Report
6’1″ 224 pounds
The person to tie Byron Young as Tennessee football’s leader in both sacks and tackles for a loss was Jeremy Banks. In addition to those numbers, Banks had 128 overall tackles, which leads every returning SEC player, and 59 solo tackles, which leads every returning SEC linebacker. He also had an interception and four pass deflections.
Simply put, Banks was a playmaker. He did earn Third Team All-SEC by both the coaches and the media, hinting at the recognition he could get. While Young earned First Team on both and was the only Vol to do so, other underlying factors give Banks a huge advantage for postseason awards.
Rocky Top has too many questions at linebacker. Juwan Mitchell should be returning to health, but Aaron Beasley and Solon Page III struggled too much at times last year. That means Brian Jean-Mary will need to rely on Banks even more, so the amount of action he sees could increase.
Remember, this is Banks’ first time returning as a player at the same position in the same system. As a result, he should improve dramatically on his issues, and when you look at what he was able to do simply as a playmaker last year, he could be a standout star for Tennessee football. That’s enough for him to be middle of the pack on this list.