Why is there no movement related to the Tennessee football Volunteers?
If hell is really an eternal fire with no end in sight, Tennessee football may be in it. The Vols have been in a disastrous state wrought with numerous questions dating back to the end of the season, and the university continues to pretend all is well. They haven’t given any answers.
Remember, this is a program that went 3-7 and lost a wave of decommitments during the 2020 season despite a preseason top 25 ranking and a top five recruiting class during the summer. Those alone were issues, and all of a sudden, they are the least of anybody’s worries.
An NCAA investigation into Tennessee football that broke just before the Vols’ final regular season game against the Texas A&M Aggies has fans wondering if Jeremy Pruitt will stick around and if the program will be on probation next year. The university hiring attorneys and going on a hiring and contract extension freeze further shows how severe this is.
Still, for some reason, everybody in the administration is acting like things are normal. That started the day the investigation broke, when Pruitt gave a vague answer about something related to compliance to the question in his postgame press conference and refused to say why Eric Gray, who was named in the investigation story, didn’t play that day.
That was understandable at the time, as the investigation had just broke. However, at this point, where are the answers? Why are coaches allowed to continue to make moves as if nothing is going on while all the fans are worried about one thing?
We still continue to see news stories like this one by Robert Holder of WATE that Tennessee football and the women’s basketball program self-reported NCAA violations due to a paintball game on the practice field. However, there is no response from the university as to whether or not that relates to the current investigation.
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All of this ambiguity was blatantly on display when the Vols hired Kevin Steele as a defensive assistant while still in the midst of the hiring freeze. Pruitt released a statement about the respect he has for Steele and what he brings to the table.
However, Steele has never coached either of the two vacancies on the Vols’ staff, defensive line or offensive line, and Pruitt didn’t say what position he would coach. Why, then, won’t he provide details of any potential staff shuffling he may do?
WHERE ARE THE ANSWERS?!?!?!?!
Everybody on Rocky Top has a right to be frustrated and to refuse to focus on anything else but answers related to the investigation. There’s supposed to be a hiring freeze, and everybody is wondering if Pruitt will make it through the week.
Somehow, though, Phillip Fulmer, Pruitt and the rest of the administration feel as if Vol fans and the public have no right to know what’s going on. The quieter they are, the more people should expect the worst.
Vol Nation has been too good for too long to be left in the dark like this. Fulmer and Pruitt owe an explanation for what is happening with Tennessee football. Until they provide one, nobody should pay attention to anything they have to say.