Tennessee football Monday presser: Vols improving, Fulmer helping out

Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt previewed the Florida Gators in his Monday press conference. Here are notes from the Volunteers media session.

Tennessee football is now 2-1 after a win over the UTEP Miners, and Jeremy Pruitt met with the media Monday to discuss program ahead of their SEC opener against the Florida Gators. True to form, Pruitt was vague in many of his answers.

On top of that, Pruitt also managed to criticize some of the things his team did as a whole, but he refrained from calling out individual players, even defending many of them. That obviously made things even more vague.

However, we were once again able to gather a few tidbits of information from the press conference. So here are some of our takeaways from the Tennessee football Monday media session ahead of Week 4. You can see the full video of the press conference by clicking here.

Areas of improvement came with too many negatives

Jeremy Pruitt touted improvement on both sides of the ball against UTEP but noted that new mistakes came with it. For instance, the offense had numerous penalties and put the ball on the ground five times, but it improved its overall numbers as far as gaining yards.

“We’ve got to build off that, we’ve got to eliminate the penalties, and we’ve got to take care of the football,” Pruitt said.

He added that the pressure from the defensive front improved, but not forcing any turnovers was a problem. Part of that was noting improvement in the secondary, even though they still have lots of work to do.

Another specific unit that got a mention was the wide receivers, whom Pruitt said are working hard to block well on the outside.

No issues with Jarrett Guarantano

Even though Jarrett Guarantano has a high completion percentage, and no interceptions on the year he only has two touchdowns. The sophomore quarterback is also developing a reputation as just a game manager but not a playmaker for Tennessee football.

However, Pruitt said that by playing efficient, running the right plays and managing the clock, Guarantano is proving to be a playmaker.

“When you talk about the quarterback, the most important thing is managing the offense,” he said.

Florida ahead of where they should be under Dan Mullen

Jeremy Pruitt has experience coaching against Dan Mullen’s offense, and he had lots of praise for it on Monday. In fact, he’s taking it seriously despite their loss to the Kentucky Wildcats early in the season.  Pruitt noted that Mullen’s offense is multiple, great on third down, aggressive, and tough to hold to field goals in the red zone.

He added that their defense has been opportunistic this year, which makes them dangerous.

“Their teams are always physical, they’re tough, they’re sound,” he said.

Pruitt also said he always loved watching the Tennessee-Florida game growing up and is thankful to have a chance to be a part of it.

Phillip Fulmer helping out with offensive line

When asked if Phillip Fulmer was helping out with the offensive line last week, Jeremy Pruitt tried to be vague. However, there was no way to ignore that it was true based on what he said.

“I think I’d be foolish if I didn’t talk to Coach Fulmer about anything in the football program.”

Pruitt added that Fulmer has met with his team lots of times along with numerous other teams in the athletic department. Simply put, he tried to be vague, but it’s clear by not denying it that Fulmer is clearly giving the line some points.

Defense of individual players

-Pruitt said Micah Abernathy has picked up the defense the quickest of anybody, which is why he’s able to switch from safety to nickel.

“I think he has experience, I think he’s a smart guy,” he said. “He’s a guy that can play multiple spots.”

-Trey Smith is 100 percent physically, but he’s still not used to everything he’s seeing in a game because he didn’t get to practice as much.

“He’s going to continue to improve the more he plays,” Pruitt said.

-Following his clash Deandre Johnson Saturday, Pruitt defended him Monday, saying he’ll be a great player in the future. He said he just wanted Johnson to look at him when he’s talking to him.

-Josh Palmer is still learning how to play football at wide receiver, but Pruitt said he’s getting better and running smoother routes now.