All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Coaches responsible for Vols worst draft decade ever

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers talks in the press conference after a game against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers talks in the press conference after a game against the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. UCLA beat Tennessee 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Tennessee football
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images /

5. Jeremy Pruitt

NFL Draft picks signed: 0

Years at Tennessee in 2010s: 1

So for the long-term success of the program, it’s hard to say that Jeremy Pruitt did anything wrong in 2018. Nonetheless, he did change up the systems on both sides of the ball and refused to compromise his principles, particularly at cornerback, for more wins.

That’s applause-worthy overall. It just hurt the seniors and the players in 2018 looking to raise their NFL Draft profile. After all, the result of his changes was a 5-7 season for Tennessee football in which they lost six games by 25 or more points.

Those issues helped keep guys like Kyle Phillips, Quart’e Sapp and Shy Tuttle from being drafted, and it may have kept guys like Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway from being able to leave for the draft early. His hire of Tyson Helton and switch to a pro-style offense did create a horrible year when it came to scoring, after all.

Now, again, this is probably a good thing for the Vols overall. But it still means that Pruitt had a role in the few numbers of UT players taken in the NFL Draft this decade and, obviously, his program being shut out of the NFL Draft.

To be fair, it all may have happened anyway. After all, the program was already on fire before Pruitt took over, and the lack of experienced talent last year was going to make it really hard to put players in the pros in 2019.

Home/Vols Football