Tennessee Vols: The key reason Jeremy Pruitt is having major recruiting success
The Tennessee Vols' ridiculous recruiting hot streak continued on Saturday with the commitment of four-star defensive tackle KaTron Evans. Evans, 6-foot-4/320 lbs from Baltimore, MD, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 8 player in the state of Maryland and the No. 9 defensive tackle in the nation. Tennessee's recruiting class remains at […]
The Tennessee Vols' ridiculous recruiting hot streak continued on Saturday with the commitment of four-star defensive tackle KaTron Evans.
Evans, 6-foot-4/320 lbs from Baltimore, MD, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 8 player in the state of Maryland and the No. 9 defensive tackle in the nation.
Tennessee's recruiting class remains at No. 2 in the nation (behind Ohio State).
There are several reasons the Vols were able to land Evans, who was also considering Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
For one, there's tight ends coach Joe Osovet, who serves as Evans' area recruiter. Osovet has turned into a key recruiter for the Volunteers and he's been especially important in the northeast part of the country.
Then there's also Evans' connection with current Vol Dominic Bailey. The two were teammates at St Frances Academy (Bailey signed with Tennessee in December and enrolled in January).
However, one of the biggest reasons the Volunteers were able to get a commitment from Evans was the impact of UT head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Evans' coach at St Frances, Henry Russell, explained to 247Sports that Pruitt made an unusual move for a head coach during the recruiting process last fall.
"Coach Pruitt came up to a practice at the end of the year. A lot of time head coaches come with other coaches", said Russell to 247Sports.
"He (Pruitt) showed up by himself and he said, ‘Man, we need to be recruiting the hell out of you guys,’ and they have", added Russell.
That gesture by Pruitt likely showed Evans and Russell how serious Tennessee was about recruiting the standout defensive tackle.
Of course, it's not surprising to see this kind of approach by Pruitt.
I think one of the most underrated aspects of Pruitt as a head coach is his experience as a kindergarten teacher and a high school football coach.
Pruitt is less than 15 years removed from being a coach at the high school level. After serving as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1997, he spent nearly a decade coaching high school kids.
A lot of high school coaches trust Pruitt because they know he's been where they've been. Pruitt understands the struggles of a high school program. He understands the grind of it.
I also think a lot of coaches see Pruitt and they see hope. They see a coach who worked hard and continued progressing in the coaching world. And maybe they think the same is possible for them. There's a unique relationship that can be had between Pruitt and high school coaches that a lot of other college coaches can't emulate.
High school coaches also see the opportunities that Pruitt has given under-the-radar coaches (like Osovet) and perhaps they think a good relationship with Tennessee's head coach can pay off down the road.
There are a lot of factors that have contributed to the Vols' recent recruiting surge. But Pruitt's personality, which seems as genuine as any coach in the country, and the road he took to being a head coach, is one of the main reasons I think Tennessee has the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation right now.
Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
