Vols need Pruitt to break from tradition
ATLANTA — This four-day TV show is more a matter of record than a source of revelation, though Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt did drop some news in his SEC Media Days debut.
Pruitt said Wednesday that sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith will take part in camp after missing time with an undisclosed medical condition. This is very good news for a Tennessee team that needs all difference-makers possible to earn a bowl bid in 2018.
We also found out this week that everybody doesn’t love Pruitt. Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray questioned him as a CEO in an interview on Nashville’s 102.5-FM with Jared Stillman, saying, “I don’t know if his personality is fit to be a head coach” and claiming Pruitt did not respect former Georgia coach Mark Richt enough when Pruitt was his defensive coordinator in 2014 and ‘15.
That’ll get the blood flowing a little bit. Pruitt was measured in response, pointing out that 15 years ago he was a kindergarten teacher and wouldn’t be where he is if he didn’t treat people well. He also told The Athletic that he’s familiar with the vegetable called asparagus despite a scene suggesting otherwise on an MTV reality show more than a decade ago. Glad we got that cleared up! Next year I’ll quiz him on kohlrabi.
Also next year, we will look back at things Pruitt said Wednesday and perhaps think of them differently. We might do the same five years from now, 10 years from now. That can be fun. Will he still be the coach then? Only if the type of football he has vowed to establish materializes and creates consistent winning. Tennessee really needs its representative at this event to prove prophetic for the first time in a long time. It’s been a decade of pathetic.
Vols changing ‘cultures’ like socks
Remember 10 years ago? Phillip Fulmer, coming off an SEC East title, was served papers related to an NCAA investigation of Alabama. Among his comments that day was this on a recent contract extension and raise:
“I think sometimes it’s just natural, somebody’s been at a place for a long time, you take them for granted a little bit possibly, or you like the newness of things,” Fulmer said four months before being fired. “I’m really, really appreciative of the contract and the support that Mike (Hamilton) and our people have given us. That’s got us headed in a very, very good direction from a recruiting standpoint, from a stability standpoint.”
And then it’s just a string of greatest hits, many with the same notes. The term “culture change” has been used so often by Tennessee coaches it’s like Tennessee players have gone through a decade of Model United Nations.
Lane Kiffin, play that funky salary music in 2009: “When we start winning, nobody is going to write about how much we pay our assistant coaches because, in turn, we’re going to make a lot more money by them being there. I don’t think it’s a big deal. And I took a lot less so we’d have money for them.”
Derek Dooley, rock the patience ballad in 2010: “It takes time. It takes staying the course. It takes not letting some of the external forces pull you off and start putting doubt in what you’re doing.”
And the changing athletic directors blues in 2011: “I have a lot of trust and confidence in Jimmy Cheek, our chancellor. We’ve had a lot of communication on what’s important in developing a winning football program that’s going to meet the expectations of our fan base. He understands it and has been very supportive of it.”
And a desperation battle rap in 2012: “The SEC has enjoyed taking advantage of our tough times. But there’s a nice mood on our team right now that you’re not going to have Tennessee to kick around anymore.”
Jeremy Pruitt sells his Vols vision
And Butch Jones, well, we don’t need to reopen those fresh wounds, do we? Let’s just move on and …
(The Butch Jones Medley blasts through the speakers):
“Before we could ever think of being a championship football team, our team had to be comprised of individual champions. … The mark of a good football coach is they’re able to mold their personnel into what they want to do. I think our offensive system is extremely flexible. … We have a great administration led by Chancellor Cheek and Dave Hart; we’re all aligned. … This program is going to be etched in stone and concrete to where it maintains sustainable success.”
Think of how those words sound now vs. how they sounded then. What you want is Nick Saban, saying, “I don’t want to waste a failure” last year after losing in the national title game, and a chorus of Tide fans repeating them when Alabama doesn’t waste the failure.
Pruitt did well Wednesday, taking the opportunity before questions to sell Tennessee extensively. This is no time for bold declarations, but I did perk up and notice when he said: “My goal is to help put a football team on the field that they can be proud of by the way they play with their toughness, their effort, the way they play together. They play smart. No matter what’s on the scoreboard, when they leave the stadium, they say, ‘You know what, that’s our team.’ That’s what I want to give to our fan base.”
That’s exactly what they need, for starters. And I have a feeling we’ll play that tune again some time, for one reason or another.