Jeremy Pruitt explains why Tennessee Vols' defense struggled early in season
Jeremy Pruitt is a defensive minded head coach, which is why it was a bit of a surprise to see the Tennessee Vols' defense struggle early in the year. The Vols gave up 38 points in their season opening loss to Georgia State. A week later, a defensive miscue allowed BYU to tie the game […]
Jeremy Pruitt is a defensive minded head coach, which is why it was a bit of a surprise to see the Tennessee Vols' defense struggle early in the year.
The Vols gave up 38 points in their season opening loss to Georgia State. A week later, a defensive miscue allowed BYU to tie the game late in regulation. Tennessee eventually lost to the Cougars 29-26 in overtime.
In recent weeks, however, UT's defense has looked vastly improved. Over the last two games, the Vols' defense has allowed only 38 points (against Mississippi State and Alabama).
What was the reason for the early struggles and the recent turnaround?
According to Pruitt, there's a simple explanation.
Due to Tennessee's lack of defensive depth, the Vols have been forced to move a lot of players around. Because of all the moving around, it's meant the defense has been "watered down".
Pruitt: "To find our best players, we’ve moved some guys around and it probably made us go backwards defensively. We really had to water down a whole lot. As we get some of these guys back, it has enabled us to go back to our foundation of what our kids know."
True freshman linebacker Quavaris Crouch is a great example of this. Crouch has moved back and forth from inside linebacker to outside linebacker this season. As a result of all the moving around, Crouch hasn't been able to really "settle in" at a position. The Charlotte native is a tremendous talent who is going to be a great player at Tennessee. He's displayed flashes of his elite talent this season. But having to learn defensive concepts at multiple positions has probably limited his effectiveness (even though it's been necessary because of Tennessee's lack of depth).
As the season has progressed, and the Vols have had some players return and/or step up, Pruitt's been able to introduce some more complex concepts to his defense.
Pruitt: "As the season has progressed here, we are able to do a little bit more. Probably, from a schematics standpoint, especially on third down which is probably where you see the biggest part that we have watered down, is moving guys back and forth and really not having enough depth. Just plug and play at each position.”
Tennessee's lack of depth and experience has undoubtedly been their achilles heel this season. But I think we've seen in recent weeks that Pruitt and his staff are on the right track. They just need players.
Fortunately for the Vols, help is on the way in the form of a solid 2020 recruiting class.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
