KNOXVILLE – During an appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show at the SEC Spring Meetings, Jeremy Pruitt reviewed his first season as Tennessee’s football coach and included some self-deprecation.
“Well you know the longer you do something, the better you should be at it,” he said. “So I probably made plenty of mistakes in Year 1, just as I did as a position coach, a coordinator.
“So you get better at something the longer you do it. When you have good people around you and everyone in the program is familiar with what you’re trying to get done, it does make it easier the second time around.”
Co-defensive coordinator Chris Rumph is one of the people around Pruitt. During the spring, he spoke of coaching and a need to “self-check yourself” during the offseason. Pruitt’s comments on Finebaum’s show, to some extent, echoed Rumph’s.
In so doing, they both referenced the process involved with trying to restore UT’s football program. In the final installment of a series reviewing Tennessee’s five high-profile programs, here’s a look at football.
A busy workplace: In his interview with Finebaum, Pruitt said that 55 players stayed for the mini-term school session in May.
“Now we’ve got a chance in June and July and August to kind of create the identity of this football team for the newcomers,” he said. “And that’s the great thing about sports is building a team and we’ve got an opportunity to do that with a good summer of working out and conditioning.”
Pruitt alluded to his revamped coaching staff in saying that the football workplace is more appealing for Tennessee’s players.
“I think with our staff and the people we have involved in our program, I think the atmosphere is very positive,” he said. “I think our kids enjoy coming to work, enjoy being around each other, enjoy being around our staff. So anytime you have that atmosphere, you have success.”
Preseason Awards: Phil Steele’s College Football Preview tabbed Tennessee outside linebacker Darrell Taylor as a first-team preseason All-SEC player. Taylor had eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season.
If Taylor plays up to that prediction, it will help the pass rush and could take some pressure off UT’s defensive line.
Wide receiver Marquez Callaway was another preseason All-SEC pick. Some of his fellow receivers ought to push him for the distinction. With new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and an experienced, deep receiving corps, UT’s passing game previews as a team strength.
Recruiting: Commitments from three players in the past week has created buzz while calming some of the worries that typically surround this game within the game.
Lovie Jenkins, a three-star cornerback in the Class of 2020, committed to UT on Wednesday. The 6-foot-2 Jenkins, who’s from Ocoee, Fla., is the Vols’ ninth commitment. He’s ranked the No. 58 cornerback prospect in the class by 247Sports.
Safety Antonio Johnson and offensive lineman Javontez Spraggins, both from East St. Louis (Ill.) High, committed after attending camp last week. Johnson is a four-star prospect who is the No. 11 ranked safety according to the 247Sports Composite.
More attrition: Medical misfortune continues to conspire against UT’s attempts to rebuild its offensive line.
Freshman Melvin McBride announced via Twitter on Wednesday that he was retiring from football because of “health problems.” He had been on campus less than two weeks.
In the last two years, injuries have ended the careers of linemen Chance Hall, Jack Jones, Tanner Antonutti, Devante Brooks and Eric Crosby. And freshman All-American Trey Smith’s future still is in jeopardy after having blood clots in his lungs.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri who covered University of Tennessee athletics for the Knoxville News Sentinel from 1988-2019. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com