Josh Heupel just gave Tennessee Vols fans an unexpected Jeremy Pruitt flashback
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gave Vols football fans a flashback to one of the best moments of the Jeremy Pruitt era this week.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gave Vols fans a flashback earlier this week to one of the best moments of the Jeremy Pruitt era on Rocky Top.
Heupel met with reporters before Tennessee’s first fall practice and he offered a passionate defense of senior linebacker Arion Carter, who was recently suspended by the NCAA over a $427 plane ticket that his former agent paid for (which Carter repaid).
“Arion, the person and the player that he is every single day, his character, how he impacts the people around him in a positive way, who he is on the field, off the field — I think it’s exactly what you would want in a son if you’re his parent, and as a coach, the player that you want inside of your program,” said Heupel. “He, to me, embodies everything that’s good about college athletics as young men become grown men inside of this game. Look at his decision to choose a school, now going to be here for four years at that program. That’s a rarity inside of college athletics today. Again, I think he embodies everything that college football wants inside of their players and represents the game in such a positive way.”
“The ruling that came out from the NCAA, the two-game suspension, I truly believe is bullshit. You look at the landscape of college football, the rules from NIL, everything, I think the ruling is completely outdated.”
Heupel’s fiery defense of Carter instantly reminded many Vols fans of Pruitt’s defense of Jauan Jennings in 2019 after the Tennessee wide receiver was suspended for the first half of the Gator Bowl.
Jennings was suspended after accidentally stepping on a Vanderbilt player in Tennessee’s final game of the regular season.
“Jauan Jennings has done nothing but do everything exactly the way we wanted him to since I’ve been the head coach at Tennessee,” said Pruitt. “The guy’s graduated, he’s competed, he’s been a great leader. In this game, you see it every Saturday, there’s lots of physicality in this game. Jauan plays the right way, but one thing that we do is there’s leaders in every organization, right? I’m the leader in our organization, Greg Sankey’s the leader in the SEC and things kind of go up and down the ladder there. Commissioner Sankey made a decision on that and we’re going to support it. But in no way does that depict who Jauan is, or the circumstances around it.”
A month later, there was a report that some teams didn’t have Jennings on their draft boards due to character concerns. He ended up getting selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Jennings barely got a shot in the NFL because of some unfortunate narratives that formed during his time in college (narratives that have since been destroyed).
It’s easy to forget sometimes that college football head coaches, regardless of the wins and losses, have a major impact on the players they coach. Heupel clearly cares deeply about Carter, and it showed in his anger toward the NCAA. The same goes for Pruitt with Jennings.
Heupel and Pruitt have given Vols fans very different on-field experiences, but there’s no doubt that both got it right when it comes to how they care for their players.
