Last year it was beef with Georgia, and now Missouri and Florida are talking about Tennesse during their media availabilities.
Remember last season when two former Georgia players criticized Jeremy Pruitt? They were upset with the way he mistreated former head coach Mark Richt. Former quarterback Aaron Murray said, “I don’t know if his personality is fit to be a head coach.”
That’s close to the dumbest comment about Pruitt anyone has ever said. Pruitt is as close to Saban in terms of personality as any other coach in the nation. Does Saban have the personality to be a head coach?
Hear me out; maybe personality has nothing to do with winning. Perhaps winners are just fantastic football minds that put other fantastic football minds around them.
Anyways, that was last year, and there is undoubtedly no team that will bring up Tennessee on their Media Day, right?
Wrong.
In February, head coach of the Missouri Tigers, Barry Odom, mentioned Tennessee in a quote after being hit with sanctions and a postseason ban. Odom said, “everybody is going to have a bad day. You combine that with somebody that – who we beat 51-17 this year? Tennessee?”
Odom said this because Pruitt and company were going after seniors because of the sanctions and postseason bans. But, what coach wouldn’t in Pruitt’s shoes. Tennessee needed talent, and Missouri had some of it.
Odom didn’t take any shots at Pruitt and the Vols during his media time. But, Tennessee was brought up. Odom mentioned the two coaches were able to meet up after meetings in Birmingham. He stated, “I also understand how recruiting goes. We’re okay.”
The Vols were brought up by another team, the Florida Gators. Running back Lamical Perine was a big story of the first day of SEC Media Days. Speaking on Tennessee, Perine said, “I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry. It’s just another game. We prepare just like it’s a regular game.”
If Tennessee fans are being honest, Perine isn’t wrong. But, it’s incredible how Tennessee continues to be the topic of conversation for other teams in the conference. Will the chatter continue? Either way, it isn’t bad news for the Vols.