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Tennessee football: 5 takeaways from Vols’ National Signing Day 2019

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 7: A Tennessee Volunteer holds up his helmet in the team huddle before the NCAA football game against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at Neyland Stadium on September 7, 2002 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 26-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 7: A Tennessee Volunteer holds up his helmet in the team huddle before the NCAA football game against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at Neyland Stadium on September 7, 2002 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 26-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

3. Jeremy Pruitt focused this class on shoring up needs instead of a high ranking.

This is another area where Jeremy Pruitt departs from Butch Jones and is more similar to Derek Dooley, believe it or not. He’s interested in productivity over recruiting rankings, and he’s clearly doing his own evaluations.

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We already mentioned him ignoring in-state guys. It’s worth mentioning that Tennessee football still managed to seriously fill some of its biggest needs. Offensive line was the weakest part of the team last year, so Pruitt added five new offensive linemen, a unit that had the only five-star in the class along with three other four-stars.

Inside linebacker was an issue with the only two guys with experience this upcoming year being seniors, and two of Pruitt’s three biggest gets down the stretch of the recruiting period were guys who can play inside linebacker. He also managed to load up on defensive back with four signees, another athlete who signed and can play the position, and a commitment who will likely sign later.

That’s not like Jones, who just got whatever he could get, regardless of their potential production. Jalen Hurd is a perfect example again, as he’s a power back who’s not a fit for Jones’s spread offense. But Hurd was an in-state five-star, so Jones wanted him. Then there was the signing of three four-star quarterbacks in 2015 just to boost his ranking.

With two quarterbacks on the roster, Pruitt did his part to bring in one more solid guy there. A three-man race is all you ever need to find the right guy. So he sacrificed a Top 10 ranking by being more meticulous with his recruiting and filling more needs. Whether or not the bodies he got will work out remains to be seen.

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