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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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1. Meticulous recruiting

Evaluating talent is one of the most important things for a Tennessee football head coach to do, and Jeremy Pruitt is much better at that than Butch Jones. Well, he at least focuses much more heavily on doing this.

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Jones was specific on quarterbacks he wanted but not much else. And even then, he would recruit guys who clearly wouldn’t fit his system. Then he went after numerous other players to boost his recruiting rankings that wouldn’t fit his system, with Jalen Hurd being the most notable example.

Meanwhile, the first thing Pruitt did when he took over the Vols was rework that recruiting class. At one point, he dropped the 2018 class out of the Top 50 because he had to rescind offers to players who wouldn’t fit what he wanted to do.

This year, he’s watched the 2019 class take a hit because he didn’t go after players simply based on their rankings. Even if they are in-state guys, Pruitt is clearly not going to recruit them heavily if they don’t fit what he wants.

Pruitt’s method clearly comes from a talent evaluation standpoint that Nick Saban emphasized. Derek Dooley came from the same system, and during that time, Vols fans criticized him for ignoring guys. But if you look at the pro careers of players Dooley ignored and the other ones he targeted, he clearly knew what he was doing.

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Pruitt may not be able to get the top guys at this point, but he is clearly being very careful with his talent evaluation. That bodes well for Tennessee football, and it’s why he’ll be able to rebuild the Vols the right way. With National Signing Day less than a month away, his first full recruiting class is almost done. And while it won’t be as splashy as others, he’s known what to go for and how to fill holes, which is more important than a class ranking. That puts the Vols in much better shape than they were previously.

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