If Josh Heupel had wanted to hire an SEC veteran to steer Tennessee's defense, he need look no further than down the hall.

Heupel inherited assistant coach Kevin Steele, a Tennessee alumnus who has been the defensive coordinator at Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Auburn. 

Instead, Heupel opted to play the field. His defensive coordinator search produced Monday's hiring of Tim Banks, who had spent the past five seasons as Penn State's safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Mike (@ByMikeWilson) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

Connect on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GoVolsXtra/

Subscribe to KnoxNews: https://knoxne.ws/2R3WbeY