One of Tennessee’s most promising true freshmen may never play at the position that first got him noticed by fans upon his arrival on Rocky Top.
Jeremy Banks quickly developed into a fan favorite at running back due to his bruising style of running and his passion and enthusiasm on the football field when given an opportunity to carry the ball. The only problem with his style, it’s led to far too many turnovers as the young Volunteer has coughed up the ball frequently during his sporadic playing career.
After talking it over with Jeremy Pruitt, the two decided moving to the other side of the ball would allow the Tennessee native to stay on the field. Instead of partaking in turnovers that hurt a team ill-prepared to sustain them, Banks could now be causing them for a team that desperately needs them.
During his Wednesday media availability, Pruitt shared how this move was initially broached.
“He asked me to move to linebacker in the fourth quarter of the Georgia game,” Pruitt revealed. “I told him that I didn’t think now was the time to talk about it. He’s just looking for an opportunity to play, and I think he’s a guy that has the skill set to do it.”
The Georgia game was the last game Banks saw the field and he lost a fumble that killed any opportunity Tennessee had to spring an upset in Athens in the 38-12 loss to the Bulldogs.
Pruitt was also asked about why he believes trying Banks at linebacker makes sense.
“Well, I think he’s a runner and a hitter and he’s physical,” Pruitt continued. “He’s practiced three days on defense, he probably don’t have a whole lot of knowledge of what we are trying to get done but I think he’s a guy that can play there.”
The Tennessee coach noted that this move may not be final and that Banks could ultimately move back to offense in the future. He also noted that Banks found out the hard way that playing on the defensive side of the ball is far more demanding than playing some spots on offense these days in Knoxville.
“He’s not had any carries in the last couple of games, not that he couldn’t be a running back, and a good running back – and he still might go back there – but I think it’s been good for him. It’s been good for him,” Pruitt said. “The first day, he thought he was going to die out there because he took a bunch of reps. I told him, ‘It’s a little bit different than sitting over there sitting out.’ There’s only one ball so you got four running backs and they are sitting there kinda rotate through but he got him a bunch of reps the last few days.”
Pruitt also noted that Carlin Fils-aime has been moved back to running back to help the team’s depth with Banks moving to the defensive side of the ball.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
