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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 Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images /

3. Top 50 total defense

Now we get to the actual play of the first season. Tennessee football’s limited turnovers don’t earn a lot of credit only because Tyson Helton played it too safe with Jarrett Guarantano. But on defense, despite not forcing many turnovers, they still were great at getting stops.

The Vols were transitioning to a 3-4 and had to start brand new cornerbacks and linebackers. But they still managed to have a top 50 defense. Now, they did give up nearly 28 points a game. But that was an improvement from the 29 points a game they gave up in 2017.

Meanwhile, their total yards allowed per game dropped from 412 to 378. By every measurement, this defense got better, and that was despite all the transitions to undergo. There’s no way to ignore that and pretend it’s not a positive sign.

Jeremy Pruitt was hired for his wisdom as a defensive coordinator, and it became very clear during his first year on Rocky Top. This isn’t to say the Vols don’t have personnel or depth issues to work out on that side of the ball. And it wasn’t great by any measure.

But when you consider where it was in 2017 and what it was going through in 2018, being in the Top 50 is actually an amazing accomplishment. The Vols were also one of only 40 teams with three or more defensive touchdowns, which is a huge deal. So even though they didn’t force the turnovers they needed to, they were still opportunistic. And you have to assume this will all get better.

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