Major difference under Josh Heupel from the Jeremy Pruitt era will help the Vols' depth this season
There's a major difference under Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel from what we saw under previous head coach Jeremy Pruitt that should allow the program to have more depth later in the season. Pruitt liked to practice hard — even late in the week before a game. The Vols would often practice in full […]
There's a major difference under Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel from what we saw under previous head coach Jeremy Pruitt that should allow the program to have more depth later in the season.
Pruitt liked to practice hard — even late in the week before a game. The Vols would often practice in full pads on Friday before a Saturday game.
That could've been a big reason why Tennessee's players wore down late in the season under Pruitt.
Heupel's philosophy, however, is a bit different. The Vols still practice hard — as does every team in the SEC — but Tennessee is protecting its players more now than they did under Pruitt.
“I’ve been at places, including here, there’s a guy by the name of Brian Randolph who was a really good player for us here, we couldn’t hit him," explained Vols secondary coach Willie Martinez this week. "We were just going to go ahead and do all the things we can do, but not let him go live in scrimmages, because of the injuries he had in the past, and we wanted to give him a shot to actually play through a season. If you guys remember, guys that have been here, he was able to do that those last couple of years he played. It kept him fresh."
“So if you’re smart, you’re passionate about all the small details each and every day, you can be prepared, especially the guys that have the starts that they have, that some of those older guys have.”
This is a great approach by Tennessee's new coaching staff. Adversity in practice is what helps a team become great. But if players can't get on the field on Saturdays, then that adversity is all for naught.
The Vols' plan under Heupel is a much more logical way to go about managing banged-up players.
This is just another example of how Heupel, thanks to his experience, is much better suited to lead a team in the SEC than Pruitt.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
