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Tennessee football: Five potential concerns about Vols promoting Joe Osovet

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: The Tennessee Volunteers run onto the field before the start of their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on October 29, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: The Tennessee Volunteers run onto the field before the start of their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on October 29, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images /

4. Wasn’t promoted to on-field role for two years

Lots of stories have been made about Tennessee football bringing on Joe Osovet in a quality control position back in 2018. He has brought a lot of hype with his experience and his qualifications, and even as a quality control coach and eventual director of player development, it was clear that he was a rising star who was now cutting his teeth in the SEC ranks.

But the fact of the matter is Osovet interviewed initially for an on-field role, and Jeremy Pruitt passed on him. You have to wonder, if his resume was so great, what held Pruitt back from hiring Osovet immediately in case he lost the guy to another school. He clearly didn’t feel a sense of urgency in making the move, and that puts a damper on all the hype behind his qualifications.

Beyond that, after Pruitt’s first year, the Vols lost three staff members in Tyson Helton, Charles Kelly and Terry Fair. But Pruitt still didn’t move Brian Niedermeyer over to the defensive side of the ball so he could promote Osovet to an on-field role. Why, if Osovet is a rising star, would Pruitt not promote him to a role on the field after he had two openings that would allow for that?

These things make you wonder just how valuable Osovet could be for Rocky Top. Pruitt’s delay on its own is a good thing to bring up. He moved Osovet into two different roles before moving him onto the field. That has to be a major question for anybody looking at this move.

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