Report: Jeremy Pruitt makes change to Vols’ medical staff ahead of 2018 season
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Recently, it was noted in Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine that the Tennessee Volunteers led the nation in starts lost to injury and suspension last year.
Perhaps new coach Jeremy Pruitt read that report, because on Tuesday, it was reported that the new leader of the Vols had relieved two long-time team doctors of their duties.
According to John Brice of Gridiron Now, sources have said that the long-tenured doctors were no longer with the program:
According to sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt has relieved multiple doctors of their duties within the University of Tennessee football program. Doctors Greg Mathien and Russell Betcher were informed late last week that they no longer would serve as the team doctors for the Volunteers football program.
Both doctors had provided care for the team dating back to Phillip Fulmer’s time, with Mathien arriving two years prior to Fulmer’s full-time ascension to the Tennessee head coaching job.
Obviously, a lot more than just the work of doctors goes into the lost starts stat, but Pruitt is apparently willing to try anything to get that problem corrected.
Will it affect the Vols’ on-field performance this fall? Only time will tell.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
