Tennessee football: Jeremy Pruitt talks freshmen injuries, playing time

Here are Nov. 2 updates from the Tennessee football Volunteers head coach.

Coming off the bye week, Jeremy Pruitt previewed this coming Saturday’s matchup between Tennessee football and the Arkansas Razorbacks in his Monday press conference. With a 2-3 record and a three-game losing streak, the pressure is on.

UT has to find a way to beat Arkansas on the road, and that seems like a tough task given the fact that the Vols did lose 34-7 at home to the Kentucky Wildcats. This is a resurgent Hogs team under head coach Sam Pittman.

However, the bye was about what Tennessee football needed to fix for itself. As Pruitt addressed the media, that apparently included lots of news surrounding freshmen on the roster. Here are some key notes from the presser, which you can watch by clicking on the video above.

Len’Neth Whitehead out for the season

One of the three-star athletes in Tennessee football’s 2020 class who had been working at running back, Jeremy Pruitt said that Len’Neth Whitehead hurt his shoulder last week and will require surgery. As a result, he’ll miss the remainder of the season. Whitehead stands at 6’2″ 225 pounds. Here’s a bit of what Pruitt said about him.

"“He had been out because of his foot injury, but come back and was doing really well. But, unfortunately, he hurt his shoulder last week in camp, and probably going to do surgery on it in the next week to get him back in time for spring ball.”"

Freshmen getting more serious looks

The injury to Len’Neth Whitehead’s was in the context of the Vols’ situation at running back. Only Ty Chandler, Eric Gray and Jabari Small have gotten carries this year. Beyond Small, though, Pruitt is clearly looking for a power back.

Dee Beckwith was another three-star athlete in UT’s 2020 class who could play tight end, wide receiver or running back at 6’5″ 220 pounds, but he was first in quarantine and then suffered an ankle injury. Pruitt said after starting at tight end, though, he’s now getting a look at running back.

Freshman Tee Hodge was recruited specifically as a power back at 6’1″ 215 pounds. Pruitt said he was also injured early in the year but noted “a little more burst and speed” coming from him lately as he’s getting back into rhythm. Here’s a bit of what he said about the running back situation.

"“I could go through the whole roster. But we need more depth at running back. We’ve really played three guys for the year and have been very fortunate that those guys have stayed healthy, so we need to get those guys more of an opportunity.”"

On defense, Keyshawn Lawrence is seeing time at Star. The 6’2″ 200-pound defensive back has played in every game this year as a reserve, and given how the secondary has played so far, don’t be surprised if he sees more action. Here’s a bit of what Pruitt said about Lawrence.

"“In the games that he’s played in, he’s done pretty well, so we looked him at Star just to get more production at that position. So he’ll possibly get an opportunity on Saturday.”"

Another position change among freshmen includes 6’2″ 255-pound linebacker Bryson Eason moving from outside to inside. In terms of playing time, Pruitt implied that 6’4″ 305-pound defensive tackle Omari Thomas could get more playing time but that 6’3″ 300-pound defensive tackle still has some developing to do.

Quarterback competition still appears open

Yes, the freshmen are the storyline, but it appears the Vols still have an open quarterback competition. Jarrett Guarantano, J.T. Shrout, Brian Maurer and Harrison Bailey all got reps during the bye week. Here’s a bit of what Pruitt said on the matter.

"“We repped three groups last week, so we went back and didn’t have enough to do four, but we did do three groups, so we split the quarterbacks amongst those three groups and got them a lot of reps there.”"

The takeaway from this is clear. While Guarantano may still be the starter, and Pruitt has given us no reason to believe he isn’t after starting him against the Alabama Crimson Tide two Saturdays ago, things could be a little bit more open than we realize.

Of course, Tennessee football has lots of other things to work on as well, but keep an eye on what happens with the quarterback situation. That statement combined with all the stories of working in the freshmen could mean Pruitt is going with a youth movement soon.