Al Wilson shares his thoughts on Phillip Fulmer taking over as AD at Tennessee: ‘It means everything’
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Tennessee has a long way to go before being relevant on the football field in the Southeastern Conference — much less on a national scale — but for the first time in recent history, the right man appears to be in position to get the school back to that place.
Of course, that man is Phillip Fulmer, who took over the AD role in Knoxville for John Currie last December following arguably the most embarrassing coaching search in college football history. It only took Fulmer days to inherit a comedy of misfortune and hire Jeremy Pruitt, one of the most respected assistants and recruiters in the nation, to lead the Tennessee program.
While Pruitt leads his first Volunteer program out on the field Saturday night against rival Florida for the first time, Tennessee’s 1998 National Championship team will be honored on the field during the game. Al Wilson, the most recognized defensive player from that team, returned to Knoxville to take part in the weekend festivities and was asked to share his thoughts on Fulmer landing the AD job on Rocky Top.
“It means everything,” Wilson said. “Somebody that has a connection to the university and someone that understands what it takes to win and has a feeling about the school and the organization and the football team, it’s second to none. You can bring in other guys from different universities but when you have that special personal connection to the University of Tennessee, it makes the whole difference.”
You can view a video of Wilson’s response here, courtesy of Steve Megargee of the Associated Press:
https://twitter.com/stevemegargee/status/1043605679678873600
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
