Q&A with the coach: Jeremy Pruitt talks recruiting, his biggest challenges and Jarrett Guarantano
By Dave Hooker
Published:
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt isn’t running short on challenges.
First, the long-time assistant coach is taking over a head coaching role for the first time in his career. Second, Pruitt is taking over a roster and program that needs a major overhaul. Meanwhile, Pruitt has to rebuild the Vols via recruiting, which has undergone major changes in recently.
Pruitt addressed those issues and more in a recent appearance on WGOW:
Question: You’re known as a top recruiter. How has recruiting changed recently with the early signing period in December?
Pruitt: “It’s really changed in the last three years. You’re now allowed to bring juniors on campus for official visits starting in April and May through June. You could actually bring somebody on campus that you’ve never met before. You’ve never been in their home, which is totally different.
“For the guys that are 2019 guys right now, when you go out in December and January, it’s not a contact period so you can’t speak to them. You can’t meet them. You can’t talk to them. You can’t talk to their parents unless it’s on your campus.
“It’s moving the calendar up for recruits, but it’s not moving up from the coaching profession. Our timetable is still the same like it was all these years so it makes it tough to evaluate character, which is one of the most important things because it’s hard to get to know them if they’re not on your campus.”
Q: How has recruiting QBs changed?
Pruitt: “I think in the last 10 years there’s a lot more skilled offensive players coming out of high school and I think that goes back to how the game has changed in high school. If you think 10 years ago, it was a rarity where everybody was throwing the ball around (in high school).
“(Now) they throw it and catch it all over the country.
“I think putting the ball in the air like that, probably some guys that wouldn’t have come out for football are having success.”
Q: What positions do you expect incoming freshmen to be able to contribute?
Pruitt: “It’s easier at certain positions, like receiver, defensive back and running back. Probably any (position) on the defensive side would be easier because there’s one ball, find the ball and go get the guy with the ball. There’s more to it than that, but (it’s easier on defense).”
Q: What did you think of quarterback Jarrett Guarantano during spring practice?
Pruitt: “I thought Jarrett did some good things this spring. He’s a guy that has some arm talent (and) can run around a little bit. You know, he’s young. It’s a position that you get better at the older you get and the more experience you have. This is going to be the second system he’s got to learn. It’s new for him and there’s probably not a lot of similarities.
“He had some good days. He had some bad days. That’s part of football. Bad days are going to happen. It’s about how your respond and go about your business. Are you going to let the last play affect the next play. I think he learned a lot about himself this spring.”
Dave Hooker started covering Tennessee in 1998. He hosts an SEC radio show out of Chattanooga and covers the SEC for Saturday Down South.
