All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Five best arguments for Vols to stick with Jeremy Pruitt

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt watches his team stretch out before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2020 Taxslayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt watches his team stretch out before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2020 Taxslayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
Oct 24, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt and Alabama head coach Nick Saban speak before a game between Tennessee and Alabama at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. Mandatory Credit: Caitie McMekin-USA TODAY NETWORK
Oct 24, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt and Alabama head coach Nick Saban speak before a game between Tennessee and Alabama at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. Mandatory Credit: Caitie McMekin-USA TODAY NETWORK /

1. Pandemic gives everybody a mulligan

It’s fair to say that everybody’s in the same boat when it comes to the pandemic. However, there’s no way of knowing how that’s affected each team this year, and yes, that includes Tennessee football. As a result, Jeremy Pruitt may deserve a mulligan.

More from All for Tennessee

Pruitt has insisted that he hasn’t had the chances to see what many of his players could do in practice because they haven’t practiced a lot, and that includes quarterbacks Brian Maurer and Harrison Bailey. We know that UT had an outbreak of cases back in August, and that limited the development of key guys with lots of hype, most notably Wanya Morris at left tackle.

Injuries aren’t an excuse, but they become more prevalent when things like this happen. Bryce Thompson, Shawn Shamburger and Alontae Taylor all missing significant time in the secondary could explain those issues, and it’s a combination of things likely related to the pandemic.

Now, as we said, everybody is in the same boat. Nobody, however, can deny the effect this is having on teams all over the nation. Take the Big Ten, for instance. the only other undefeated teams in the conference along with the Ohio State Buckeyes are the Indiana Hoosiers and the Northwestern Wildcats. UT just beat Indiana last year in the Gator Bowl!

dark. Next. Five takeaways from Vols' 24-13 loss at Arkansas

In the SEC, while the LSU Tigers could have expected a drop-off, being 2-3 right now is crazy. Simply put, the pandemic has messed everybody up, and every coach deserves a mulligan for at least a year. Even Pruitt gets that excuse when it comes to Tennessee football’s struggles.

Home/Vols Football