Following the Orange & White Game in late April, first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt openly called out Tennessees effort in the spring scrimmage even saying some of his players quit. The candid assessment certainly caught the attention of Vol Nation, and Pruitt was once again asked about his statement Wednesday on Nashvilles 104.5 The Zone Midday 180.
Im trying to figure out what yall want me to be. You dont want me to be honest?, Pruitt said. I think its important that everybody knows where theyre at. If you play defensive back and you dont play with the right toughness or dont give enough effort, or maybe youre great at playing man-to-man, you need to know those things. You need to know what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are. If you dont, how do you address it and improve on it? "Most guys, wherever Ive been, want feedback. They want to be coached. They want to be the best player possibly be.
I went back to way we used to watch video at Plainview (Ala.) High School. We put the whole team in there and we had one video and I ran the video, he said. I coached the offense, defense and special teams. Everybody got to see it. Everybody understands where they are at. They understand the expectations. Its easy. You just have to say, Hey, who wants to play with this guy? You know. Theres nothing like peer pressure.
Were starting over here. Thats what were doing, Pruitt said. So I think its great to have a guy like coach Fulmer who has actually done it before. Hes very familiar with what goes on at Tennessee, with what has made Tennessee great before. Its definitely, to me an edge for me, being a first-time head football coach, to have somebody to lean on and bounce stuff off of. Id say a lot of folks are probably jealous from that standpoint.
Last weekend, 25 percent of the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft was coached by a member of Tennessees staff. The Midday 180 crew rattled off a number of stats, including 21 picks overall this year and 44 players personally coached by Pruitt since 2012.
Ill be honest, I didnt know all those number. I need to get that from yall so we can use that, Pruitt said, laughing. "But we have a really good staff. I think their history of developing players kinds of speaks for itself. Its kind of unique, that out of 11 of us, including myself, eight started out as high school football coaches. "Pretty much everybody in the room in some for or fashion has been on a team that has been part of a national championship.
