Pruitt: Freshman defensive backs will learn from Saturday’s loss
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt had no choice but to start at least one player in the secondary with no prior starting experience in Saturday’s 40-14 season-opening loss to West Virginia.
He could have played it safe otherwise and relied mostly on players with at least one career start on the back end of the defense against the Mountaineers’ prolific passing attack.
Instead, he took an approach with some obvious peril, eyeing a future payoff by going all in on the youth movement with three freshman defensive backs.
West Virginia’s 429 passing yards were the most allowed by any team Pruitt has worked for since he began working full-time in college football in 2007.
“So they’ve got to learn from it, they’ve got to grow up and I think they will, because they’re made the right way,” Pruitt said after WVU’s Will Grier passed for five touchdowns against the Volunteers.
Pruitt’s belief is that the baptism by fire of his young defensive backs will make the defense better on the back end of the schedule when the Vols likely will be fighting for bowl eligibility against Charlotte, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt.
Mistakes made Saturday by freshman cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson and freshman safety Trevon Flowers were the result of issues that can be corrected between now and November.
“It’s a learning experience for everybody,” junior cornerback Baylen Buchanan said Monday. “New scheme. But we’re going to get it corrected. We made some plays, but we didn’t execute to our standard. We didn’t play to our standard. That’s something the coaches are going to go over on the film, and we’re going to get it corrected.”
A game this Saturday against East Tennessee State should provide the Vols an opportunity to work out at least some of the kinks. The Buccaneers are quarterbacked by Temple transfer Logan Marchi, who threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the season-opening 28-7 victory over Division II member Mars Hill.
It will be ETSU’s first-ever game against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. The Vols take on Texas-El Paso the following week before Florida comes to town for a crucial matchup on Sept. 22.
Buchanan and veteran safeties Micah Abernathy and Nigel Warrior also made mistakes against the Mountaineers as they continue learning a new defensive scheme.
“Being older guys, we need to take more charge, take more lead back there,” Buchanan said Monday. “The young guys made some plays, but as a whole we didn’t execute how we were supposed to. We didn’t play to our standard. That’s something that we have to do better.”
Pruitt shouldered some blame, too.
“I’ve got to do a better job of coaching them, too,” he said. “I put them in a couple of bad spots, and that’s my fault. I’ll help ‘em out the next time, hopefully.”