KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dozens of NFL personnel will descend upon the Anderson Training Center on Tuesday as Tennessee football holds its annual Pro Day leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft.
A total of 15 Volunteers from the College Football Playoff team are slated to participate on the field, including defensive back Will Brooks, offensive lineman John Campbell Jr., offensive lineman Dayne Davis, offensive lineman Andrej Karic, offensive lineman Cooper Mays, wide receiver Bru McCoy, defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott, edge rusher James Pearce Jr., linebacker Eli Purcell, long snapper Matthew Salansky, running back Dylan Sampson, defensive lineman Elijah Simmons, offensive lineman Javontez Spraggins, defensive lineman Omari Thomas and wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Linebacker Keenan Pili continues to work his way back from his season-ending knee injury last fall and has been meeting with teams. All six of Tennessee’s NFL Combine participants — McCoy, Norman-Lott, Pearce, Sampson, Simmons, Thornton Jr. — will be on hand Tuesday.
Pro Day comes one day after the Vols conducted their second practice of the spring, a two-hour helmets and shorts workout on Monday. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks, a 2024 Broyles Award finalist, is seeking to reload a unit that allowed only 16.1 points per game last fall. Much of that success derived from a ferocious and deep defensive front that returns several contributors led by Joshua Josephs, Jaxson Moi, Bryson Eason, Dominic Bailey and Tyre West.
“I think it’s a work in progress but in a good way,” Banks said. “Those guys were really productive for us and some guys who have played some football. I think these young guys will be fine. (Daevin Hobbs) has played a lot of football over the last couple of years. We’re super excited about his growth and development. Jaxson Moi, (Bryson Eason), those guys have played some football. They’ve worked during winter conditioning on leadership, working on their leadership skills.”
Banks enters his fifth season with the program and signed a new contract earlier this year.
“Being here, Tennessee is obviously a special place,” he said. “It’s a special place for me and my wife. You know that my faith is everything to me, and so I feel extremely blessed to be here. I knew things would work out the way they needed to work out, so I am excited to work with this new group.”
Tennessee will put on shoulder pads for the first time this spring Wednesday before going full pads Friday prior to spring break.
Tennessee Football Press Conference | March 10, 2025
Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks
On his thoughts of this defensive group and how they can develop this spring…
“That’s a great question. It’s always the same every year. The fundamentals, who we are as a defense, the things we take a lot of pride in, how we run to the ball, the physicality in which we want to practice with, and how smart we want to be from snap to whistle. We are just really working on our core identity right now. We have a lot of new faces out there, and you can’t take anything for granted. We are just starting from the bottom up. Everybody is starting from scratch. We are just building and laying the foundation.”
On how Boo Carter has handled playing both sides of the ball and how a full season of playing defense helped him…
“I think it’s been fine. Boo understands he is a defensive back for us. The goal every year is to be the last man standing, so we are trying to do anything we can to give everybody an opportunity to continue to grow. His role on offense will be dictated by Coach (Josh Heupel), and at this point, he seems to be handling it really well.”
On how the secondary group has grown…
“It’s a lot of young faces out there right now. For us, I think the thing that’s exciting is we feel like they look like what we want them to look like. We have a lot of length back there, and we have a lot of guys that can run. They are still learning to play at this level, but we are excited for them. We think every year, we are continuing to move the needle and deal with a type of secondary that can stand the test of time. Obviously between (Jermod McCoy), (Rickey Gibson III) and guys like that, we think that they will be great ambassadors and role models for these young guys.”
On the linebacker room…
“I think the first thing for me is that (Jeremiah Telander) has been awesome, just being a leader. He played a lot of football for us last year, and you can see his confidence that has grown. He’s really working with the younger guys. It’s a little bit by-committee right now, but that’s a good thing. We think that snaps are very valuable that they’re getting right now, and it will only pay dividends for us in the future.”
On the process of self-scouting and reflecting on last season…
“It’s a little bit of both. Obviously, you always try to figure out how you can play better in some of the games that you weren’t quite as successful in. And then with the things you did well, why did you do them well? We’re trying to learn and grow. That’s what the cut-ups are for. As we get used to our new personnel, we’re defining right now what it is they do well, some of their strengths and weaknesses and how we can make them better within the framework of our defense. All of that information is really based on what we saw coming out of last season and how we can get better.”
On how the defensive front is evolving after a plethora of departures this offseason…
“I think it’s a work in progress but in a good way. Those guys were really productive for us and some guys who have played some football. I think these young guys will be fine. (Daevin Hobbs) has played a lot of football over the last couple of years. We’re super excited about his growth and development. Jaxson Moi, (Bryson Eason), those guys have played some football. They’ve worked during winter conditioning on leadership, working on their leadership skills. I think we’re going to see some dividends being paid as we get further and further into camp.”
On having an experienced cornerback in Rickey Gibson III…
“It’s awesome. Rickey has done a really good job here over the last two years. Having him out there has been awesome for him, and obviously awesome for some of the younger guys. We have Andre Turrentine who’s back and has played some football for us. (Jakobe Thomas) was a newcomer last year that played a lot of football for us. We feel like we have some guys that have played who are able to blend in with some of these younger guys, so that hopefully when we’re done with spring ball, we’ve taken another step on that back end.”
On Kaleb Beasley’s role this spring…
“I think it starts with just being a good athlete. I think it speaks to how we try to recruit. We want to recruit defensive backs — guys that have flexibility, that can bounce inside-to-outside or outside-to-inside. Beasley fits that mold. He is a smart kid, a team-first guy. We are eager, just finding him a spot that he can continue to grow. He’s working at it. I don’t know that we have solidified any spot exactly where he’ll play, but I can say that for a lot of guys on the back end. We are just kind of working through it to figure out the best combination and make sure we have all the guys in the right spots.”
On what makes Levorn Harbin and Alan Williams the best fit for the defensive staff…
“I’ll start with Coach Chop (Levorn Harbin); he has been a valuable asset for us since he has gotten here. I know he gets a lot of accolades because of his recruiting, and rightfully so, but he does just as good a job with developing and working with the front. He has kind of been an unsung hero around here for a long time, so I’m super excited he’s finally getting his just due. As far as Alan goes, I’ve known Alan for a while, but I never had the luxury of working with him. We are always trying to move the needle. Like I said earlier, nobody is happy except one team at the end of the year. So anything that we can do to help us become better players, better coaches, that’s what we’re striving to do. Bringing Alan in has really been awesome. Wealth of experience that you alluded to. As he gets to know us, he is getting to know the system, but he’s already helped us in so many ways, just with some insight and seeing things from a different lens. It’s already helping and paying dividends for us.”
On recruiting freshman cornerback Tre Poteat…
“With Tre Poteat, he fits the mold that we are looking for. He’s a coach’s kid, so we knew he would have a great foundation in terms of learning and understanding what it looks like to be a collegiate defensive back. He hasn’t disappointed. He’s a smart kid. He’s a hard worker. He looks different than a lot of freshmen; there are obviously boatloads of things that he will continue to grow with. At the end of the day, those are the type of guys we want to recruit. Guys who see it and have a chance to be special as they continue to get older.”
On continuing his career at Tennessee…
“Being here, Tennessee is obviously a special place. A special place for me and my wife. You guys know me. You know that my faith is everything to me, and so I feel extremely blessed to be here. Uncertainty? I don’t know. I knew things would work out the way they needed to work out, so I am excited to work with this new group. I am excited to work with our staff and some of the additions we have had. It’s been a blessing for me, and I am super excited to be here.”
On how accurate spring practice indicators are for a player’s potential…
“I don’t know that you ever know until the kid is truly in the heat of the battle. It’s our job to try and simulate that as best we can. You have stages. You do the fourth quarter, the old school mat drills to try to put them in some mental anguish if you can. But at the end of the day, you have to go out and play football. We are in the first stages of that, no pads are on. There is not a lot of noise, crowd noise. The environment is pretty sterile. They still have to pass that test, then obviously you get to the scrimmages. How do they react during the scrimmages when things are going well versus when things go bad? And then, you finally get the chance to play in a place like Neyland. Now how do they respond? I just think it is a staircase for every guy. Some guys go from the first step to the last step quicker than others. I think history will tell you that if you stay to course, those guys that are able to handle the first stage to the second stage, there is a good chance that they will be able to handle the third.”
