Penn State Football Assistant Tim Banks To Be Hired As Tennessee’s Defensive Coordinator
Update, Monday, February 15: James Franklin confirmed Monday night that Tim Banks is headed to Tennessee.
Banks spent five seasons as Penn State’s safeties coach and was co-defensive coordinator this past season, but he’ll now take over as the Volunteers’ defensive coordinator under newly hired head coach Josh Heupel.
“I would like to thank Tim for everything he has contributed to our program,” Franklin wrote. “This was a great opportunity for him to be the defensive play caller and DC at Tennessee.”
Original Story: Penn State football co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks will become Tennessee’s new defensive coordinator, according to a report by Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel Monday.
Banks just wrapped up his fifth season on the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff. He was hired in January 2016 and helped develop several safeties that went on to play in the NFL, including Marcus Allen, Troy Apke, and Nick Scott. Allen was named to the All-Big Ten third-team after Banks’ first season in Happy Valley.
Before joining James Franklin’s staff, Banks made stops at Maryland, Illinois, and Cincinnati, among others. His most recent stop before Penn State was with the Fighting Illini, where he served as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2012 to 2015.
Banks hails from Detroit, Michigan and played his college football as a cornerback for Central Michigan in the early 1990s. He’s helped Penn State develop a strong recruiting base in his home state over the past few years, most notably in the class of 2021.
The Nittany Lions had four Michigan natives join their most recent recruiting class, including brothers Kalen and Kobe King, Jamari Buddin, and Jaylen Reed. All four of them are defensive prospects, while Kalen and Reed are both defensive backs.
The Volunteers are experiencing a huge overhaul of their coaching staff, as Josh Heupel was named head coach just a few weeks ago in late January.
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