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Tennessee football: What kind of offense is Jeremy Pruitt planning for Vols?

By Colby Howell

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 01: The Volunteer mascot waves the flag in the edzone after a Tennessee touchdown as the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Mississippi Rebels 27-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 1, 2005 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 01: The Volunteer mascot waves the flag in the edzone after a Tennessee touchdown as the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Mississippi Rebels 27-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 1, 2005 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Jeremy Pruitt shocked the nation with his early signing day results for Tennessee football. What type of offense can fans expect to see with the Volunteers?

Related Story: 4 things Jeremy Pruitt must do to fix Vols

Jeremy Pruitt took Tennessee football from the 60’s to No. 26 in recruiting class rankings during the early signing period. Looking at the current recruiting makeup, what kind of offense should Vols fans expect to see?

Pruitt is known for being a defensive mastermind. Now that he finds himself as head coach at Tennessee, he’s got a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball.

It’s not exactly a secret that Tennessee football had the worst offense in the SEC, one of the worst in the nation as a matter of fact. Tweaks are bound to happen each offseason, but do not be surprised if Pruitt brings a complete overhaul to the offense.

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The Vols lost both QB commits in Michael Penix and Adrian Martinez in the same day a couple of weeks back.

Penix had his scholarship pulled by the coaching staff at UT. Meanwhile, Martinez seemed to be persuaded by Scott Frost and Big Red Nebraska. But, let’s be honest. It didn’t by any means look like the coaching staff was fighting to hang on to him.

However, Tennessee football landed some highly touted recruits on the early singing period. Of the prospects, one includes 3-star Pro Style QB JT Shrout (former California Golden Bears commit). This is someone that is already being viewed by NFL prospects as the starter type on Sundays. He’s elusive and can make beautiful throws off his feet. You can see his highlights here.

The Vols also landed 4-star RB prospect Jeremy Banks (Cordova) and the No. 1 JUCO TE, Dominick Wood-Anderson (Arizona Western). Not to mention, the addition of 4-star Alonte Taylor is great for UT’s receiving core. However, if you watch his highlights, you’ll see why he’s classified as ATH. He’s a threat all over the field.

So, what “style” is Pruitt going for?

If Pruitt is smart (and he is) he looks ready to develop a pro-style offense, a system used for capitalizing on defensive weaknesses. A key component of Tennessee football’s staff is running backs coach Robert Gillespie. Gillespie was rightfully retained in the staff overhaul after proving his ability to develop the position.

The SEC is in a unique place where the “run first” offense is the favorite. It can be both conservative and/or aggressive and it’s an excellent way for you to control the clock/tempo.

Georgia and Alabama are both roughly 5-deep at running back and average 260+ rushing yards per game. Mind you, the Bulldogs and Tide have the linemen to create the gaps for their running backs. But if you remember back in Pruitt’s press conference, he mentioned two components to a creating a successful football team:

  1. Recruiting
  2. Dominate the line of scrimmage

That should make fans everywhere excited about Pruitt’s upcoming scheme. He won’t recruit in the same style former coach Butch Jones did. Jones mostly went for names of 4 and 5 star talent that had no place in his offensive scheme.

For instance, if you’re in need of a tight end (TE), you can’t recruit one for simply being a 4-star prospect. If you’re a “run first” offense, you need a TE with blocking capability. Meanwhile an “air raid” offense might target a TE with receiving specialties or tendencies.

Next: Top 5 awesome parts of Vols early signing period

If I were to guess, I’d look for Pruitt to keep the ball on the ground. Mixing in a play action or shotgun pass clearly wouldn’t hurt to maintain a balance but, depth will be key. It may be a challenge in 2018.  But once 2019 rolls around and Pruitt’s had the chance to chase his own recruits, buckle up.

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