Tennessee Vols: Jeremy Pruitt's revelation on Friday explains why UT football has a long way to go
When Jeremy Pruitt took over as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols in late 2017, the bulk of the roster was comprised of Butch Jones' final three recruiting classes (2015-2017). Those final three classes under Jones were ranked No. 4, 14 and 17, respectively. Logic would suggest that Tennessee had plenty of talent to […]
When Jeremy Pruitt took over as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols in late 2017, the bulk of the roster was comprised of Butch Jones' final three recruiting classes (2015-2017).
Those final three classes under Jones were ranked No. 4, 14 and 17, respectively.
Logic would suggest that Tennessee had plenty of talent to be a winning team in 2018 under Jeremy Pruitt. But as we all know, recruiting rankings can be deceptive and downright inaccurate.
On Friday, while speaking to the media about the coaching staff changes made at UT this off-season, Pruitt made a comment about the roster he inherited that was quite telling.
When asked about whether or not he had a better grasp on where the program is now, as opposed to a year ago at this time, Pruitt mentioned there wasn't much familiarity with the roster when he took the job. That's because Pruitt hadn't come across many of Tennessee's players during the recruiting process.
Pruitt: This time last year, There was not a lot of familiarity with the roster. There were very few guys I had a relationship with. There were very few guys we had even recruited at other stops I had been at.
That's absolutely stunning to me. For the most part, Tennessee should be recruiting the same players as schools like Alabama, Georgia and Florida State (Pruitt's previous stops).
In fact, this is something that Pruitt mentioned shortly after his first signing class at Tennessee.
Of course, some folks will probably point out that Tennessee didn't land many players over Alabama, Georgia and Florida State during Jones' tenure. And that's true. But those schools don't just recruit the players they sign. Programs send out hundreds of offers every year. Most of those offers are "non-committable", but relationships are still formed. The fact that there wasn't much recruiting overlap between Tennessee and Alabama/Florida State/Georgia is exactly why UT football is playing catch up right now.
Jones simply wasn't recruiting SEC players to Tennessee. And Pruitt is now trying to essentially rebuild an entire roster that isn't nearly as talented as the recruiting rankings suggested it was.
Pruitt's doing a solid job so far, but the Vols still have a ways to go before they catch up with the top programs in the country.
Hopefully fans fully understand why Pruitt isn't finding instant success on Rocky Top.
Featured image via Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
