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Tennessee football: 5 positives signs for Vols Jeremy Pruitt’s first year

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images /

Tennessee football’s 5-7 record its first year under head coach Jeremy Pruitt was disappointing. But the Volunteers had some positive signs. Here are five.

After missing out on a bowl game for the second straight season and the fifth time this decade, Tennessee football has had a much more exciting offseason following Jeremy Pruitt’s first year than actual season. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t things for the Vols to celebrate.

Sure, Pruitt went 5-7 his first season on Rocky Top, and you always have to question something like that. But remember that he inherited a much bigger mess than, say, Nick Saban did with the Alabama Crimson Tide back in 2007, and Saban only went 6-6. And he definitely inherited a bigger mess than what Kirby Smart inherited with the Georgia Bulldogs.

The fact is Tennessee football had numerous players coming off of injury, and they had to learn new systems on both sides of the ball. That was a recipe for disaster, especially when you consider the fact that they may have had the toughest regular season strength of schedule in the nation by some metrics.

So the Vols had a lot of things working against them. Even still, Pruitt provided signs that the future could be very exciting on Rocky Top. We won’t know for a while if Phillip Fulmer made the right move, but we were able to see a different culture this past year.

Certain things that happened were very noteworthy, and they all deserve a level of praise. Even with all the negatives from the year, you can look at these specific things to know there is reason to be encouraged.

By the way, we’re mentioning these positives that precede the return of Jim Chaney and Tee Martin to Knoxville. And this isn’t a look into the future. That should give you an idea as to how exciting things could be.

Anyway, let’s alleviate some of the concerns of Jeremy Pruitt’s first year on Rocky Top. It’s time to look at things that actually happened to provide encouragement for the future. These are five positives signs from Pruitt’s first year as Tennessee football’s head coach.

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