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Tennessee football at Georgia: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 3, 2020; Athens, Georgia, USA; A general view of the stadium prior to the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2020; Athens, Georgia, USA; A general view of the stadium prior to the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 5, 2019; Knoxville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt speak before the game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 5, 2019; Knoxville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt speak before the game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Familiarity among players and coaches

This is a story every year Tennessee football faces the Georgia Bulldogs or Alabama Crimson Tide. After all, Jeremy Pruitt was the cornerbacks coach at Alabama for three years while Kirby Smart was that team’s defensive coordinator. He was then defensive coordinator at UGA when Smart was hired as head coach but not retained by Smart, so he took Smart’s job as Alabama’s DC.

Then, in 2019, the two doubled the bond as Smart hired Charlton Warren to be the Dawgs defensive backs coach and Pruitt hired Jim Chaney away from UGA to be the Vols’ offensive coordinator. Chaney worked under Smart from 2016 to 2018, and Warren worked under Butch Jones in 2017, making him very familiar with the Vols’ experienced defensive backs.

Now, all of this was a connection last year. However, there’s a new major connection as well. Cade Mays is the elephant in the room. Mays was given clearance to play by the NCAA and SEC and had his first start last week for UT after transferring from the Dawgs, where he spent two years. That transfer was bitter and has left a lot of tense relationships on both sides.

So there’s plenty of resentment to go around: Pruitt for Smart not retaining him in 2016, Smart for Pruitt luring away Chaney and the Dawgs for Mays transferring. How will all of those factors play into the game Saturday? The team that uses them to its advantage best will be in great position.

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