Jeremy Pruitt explains recipe to beat Alabama, heaps praise on Vols WR Jauan Jennings
By Keith Farner
Published:
Tennessee had one of its better efforts of the season against Alabama, and it turned into a stressful game for a while for the Crimson Tide before they pulled away.
So does Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt have a formula to beat Alabama? He was asked about it Wednesday on the SEC media teleconference.
On the Alabama offense, “You need to make them one-dimensional, which we did not… they spread you out with their speed and playmaking… when you get them in third down, you have to get them off the field and you have to cause turnovers and negative plays.”
On the Crimson Tide defense, “They have really good players, have always had a good system. They are playing young players that continue to get experience… they get turnovers (in the secondary).”
Pruitt also noted his defensive line’s improvement, particularly against South Carolina last week.
“We have played much better in the second half Saturday than we did in the first… we have a long way to go to play our best game… we have to take what we learn on the practice field to the game and we have to do that consistently,” he said.
Pruitt also explained Tennessee’s unusual third down look on defense.
“I know people have converted when we’ve done that, both times because of missed tackles… we have to execute there, just a different look you can use,” Pruitt said.
WR Jauan Jennings got the start at QB last week against South Carolina, and made plays all over the field.
“He done a nice job, done a nice job getting guys in the right run play… Jauan is a smart guy, he could probably play quarterback in our system all the time, he knows that much of it,” Pruitt said.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
