Tennessee football: Harrison Bailey to play vs. Florida, Jeremy Pruitt says

Jeremy Pruitt also touted the Tennessee football Volunteers freshman linebackers.

Lots of new information about Tennessee football came to light Wednesday as Jeremy Pruitt did his weekly Wednesday media sessions. They involve news surrounding the depth chart and a few more injury updates.

At the SEC teleconference that morning, Pruitt revealed the biggest news of the day. Despite Jarrett Guarantano still being listed as the starter on the Monday depth chart, he said that freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey “will definitely play” against the Florida Gators on Saturday.

Bailey finished the games against the Arkansas Razorbacks and Auburn Tigers, but Tennessee football was trailing by double-digits both times when he entered. How much he will play Saturday is up in the air. Here’s a bit of what Pruitt said about playing Bailey on Saturday.

"“I feel like the three games that he’s played in, obviously, the situations were probably favorable to him at the time, based off the score. But I thought he handled himself really well. He continues to improve. The more practice time that he gets, probably the more comfortable he is in the system and his surroundings and the people around him.”"

Pruitt did say in his regular Wednesday media session that there was no starting quarterback named yet for the game, though. Combine that with the fact that Guarantano was named the starter Monday, and it’s possible, maybe even likely, that multiple quarterbacks play.

There are other updates that Pruitt provided on Wednesday in that media session as well. With the dismissal of Kivon Bennett, Tennessee football has an issue at outside linebacker. Bennett had been their best pass rusher in recent weeks, and Deandre Johnson needs help alongside him.

Pruitt brought up the freshman edge rushers and their development in response to that issue. Tyler Baron and Morven Joseph are both true freshmen who were four-star edge rushers in the Vols’ 2020 class. Pruitt said Joseph has been working at playing inside linebacker on first and second downs and outside linebacker on third downs. Here’s a bit of what he said about him.

"“He’s benefited by us not playing, to be honest, kind of getting these camp-type practices and going back to the basics and fundamentals. It’s really caught him up at inside ‘backer and there’s probably a little more multiples there, but when you learn that part of it from inside out, it probably clears things up for you, as far as the big picture of our defense, so it’s been good for him, it’s good for his development.”"

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Baron, meanwhile, “continues to earn the opportunity” with his play, according to Pruitt. He has 16 tackles overall, 10 of which were solo, to go along with two tackles for a loss. Martavius French, another true freshman, was also touted as a guy who’s “really smart,” but he trimmed his weight from 251 to 226 pounds, so he’s got to first develop with his changed body.

Meanwhile, Roman Harrison, a sophomore, could also replace Bennett. He was once a four-star edge rusher, and he has three tackles for a loss and two sacks on the year. Pruitt said he was hurt earlier in the year but is now healthier, meaning he could be effective in Bennett’s place.

Other depth issues for Tennessee football have been on the offensive line. Pruitt said that Cooper Mays, who was a four-star in the Vols’ 2020 class and had been dealing with an injury he suffered in high school, will play on Saturday.

The Vols’ lack of a “jumbo package” up front in recent weeks also came up. Pruitt talked about the injuries to multiple offensive linemen as a reason for abandoning it. Here’s a bit of what he said on the topic.

"“We were playing Riley (Locklear). We were playing Jerome (Carvin) and playing Cooper (Mays) early in the year. All those guys kind of, in the Missouri game, got banged up, and Jahmir (Johnson) obviously got hurt against South Carolina. We got down some numbers there.”"

Locklear, according to Pruitt, will now take a redshirt so he can finish his senior season with the Vols. That at least adds more depth to the line next year, but given how things have gone this year, development needs to be a focus as much as depth.

What stands out, though, is that Tennessee football may be going towards a youth movement in December given the state of the program. Pruitt saying that Bailey could play and talking about freshman edge rushers gives that impression. The Florida Gators may not be the team to do that against, but the Vols have little to lose at this point.