Tennessee dismisses linebacker Jeremy Banks from the football program

UPDATE: There’s more.

According to TMZ Sports, Banks threatened a female student on August 24th. So here’s your new information that Pruitt referenced in his statement.

A female UT student tells TMZ Sports ... on August 24, Banks threatened to “smack” her outside of a party in Knoxville after she refused to let him inside. She claims Banks had been harassing her for months. — TMZ Sports

Original Story

Following the release of his arrest video, Tennessee has dismissed linebacker Jeremy Banks from the football program. Head coach Jeremy Pruitt made the announcement this afternoon.

After saying the matter was dealt with internally this week, Pruitt chose to remove Banks from the team today, just over 24 hours before their matchup against Georgia.

“I have made the decision to remove Jeremy Banks from our football program,” Pruitt said Friday in a statement. “While I will continue to support Jeremy in the next steps in his life, information I recently received made it clear that this decision is in the best interest of the football program and the university.”

Banks’ comments to the police officers during his arrest made national headlines this week.

“Ma’am, I don’t think you want to be an intern, because where I’m from, we shoot at cops. I’m from Memphis, Tennessee,” Banks said in the arrest video.

Banks released an apology after the video went public.

“I want to sincerely apologize to my family, the University of Tennessee and the law enforcement community,” Banks said. “I deeply regret my language and attitude in the video. I have great respect for our police men and women, and I am embarrassed by my actions that night. That’s not who I am. I promise to be a better representative for the University of Tennessee moving forward.”

Pruitt referenced new information, so clearly something changed for him to reverse course this afternoon.

Tennessee lost veteran linebackers Will Ignont and Shanon Reid during the open week due to transfers. The Vols are left with a serious depth issue behind starters Henry To’o To’o and Daniel Bituli now. Former top recruit J.J. Peterson is left, but not much else. Expect some position shuffling next week from the coaching staff.

You could even see Aaron Beasley or Quavaris Crouch working at the position tomorrow against Georgia.

Banks began his career at Tennessee as a part of Jeremy Pruitt’s initial recruiting class. He signed as a three-star running back, playing early and instantly becoming a fan favorite due to his bruising running style. However, after fumbling issues, Banks was moved to the defensive side of the ball.

After bouncing back and forth, Banks settled in a linebacker this season. He was playing in a reserve role, but was set to see more playing time with Ignont and Reid now out of the picture.

Now with all of them gone, Tennessee is staring the nation’s 12th ranked rushing attack with exactly two linebackers that Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley can trust.