Pruitt is ready to test Vols

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee will hold a closed scrimmage this afternoon at Neyland Stadium, which will give coaches their first look at the current team in a more game-like atmosphere.

A ton of questions remain regarding the 2019 Volunteers. What’s boasted is 18 returning starters, but with the team’s winloss records in recent seasons, is that a good thing? Plus, with the influx of new players, it’s possible some of those 18 players who started last year won’t do so this season.

What head coach Jeremy Pruitt wants to see in this scrimmage will start simply with effort. Individual performances will be more important at some positions than others, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. And with a lot of youth on the roster, especially on defense, coaches will try to gain some clarity on who is ready to play — or at least trending that way.

“Offensively, it starts up front,” Pruitt said after Saturday’s practice, which lasted a little more than an hour. “We’re looking for guys that don’t make mental mistakes and don’t beat themselves — guys that know what they’re supposed to do. We’re going to keep the calls simple on both sides of the ball to give the guys a chance to have success playing with the right temperament, playing till the whistle blows, being consistent. Things aren’t always going to go their way, so how do they handle adversity? Who can sustain? Who can finish?

“Defensively, we have a lot of really young players. They need to be thrown out there and turned loose and see what they’re going to do, because you don’t know what you got until you go out there and do that. The way the rules are now, you don’t get an opportunity to take them to the ground in a fullscale practice but a few times. It will be interesting because coaches aren’t out there with them. When things don’t go the right way, how’s the team going to respond? Is anyone going to have a positive impact on the folks around them?”

Those questions need answers prior to the Aug. 30 season opener against Georgia State. While this scrimmage may not reveal much to coaches, Pruitt said the past couple weeks have given him and his staff a pretty good idea as to what to expect from the players.

The scrimmage could show who is better prepared to this point, but Pruitt doesn’t expect a surprise performance from any individual.

“It’s always guys that have been really good up to this point, I’ve seen them disappear at the scrimmage,” said Pruitt, who is entering his second season leading the Vols after spending time as an assistant at high-profile programs Alabama, Florida State and Georgia. “I’ve seen guys that are really good drill players may be OK during the team stuff in practice, but when they get to the stadium they disappear. I’ve seen guys that have been good at both of them (drill and team exercises) that get to the stadium and disappear.

“I’ve never seen one that wasn’t good over here (at the practice field) that gets good over there (at the stadium). It’ll be interesting to see if the guys who’ve had really good camps so far, how they respond when they get to the stadium to get an opportunity to scrimmage.”