Former teammate says football is in Weinke’s DNA and he’s a perfect fit to develop UT’s running backs.

KNOXVILLE — The last assistant Jeremy Pruitt hired was Chris Weinke as running backs coach.

The hire came soon after Feb. 7 signing day, as Robert Gillespie, the only Butch Jones coaching holdover, and Tennessee parted ways.

Weinke brings a championship pedigree to Rocky Top. The former Florida State quarterback led the Seminoles to a national title and won a Heisman Trophy.

Weinke’s former teammate at Florida State, center Jarad Moon, provided insight on what Weinke will bring to Tennessee and why he will fit in as running backs coach.

“I was his center, a free agent to Carolina (Panthers) at the same time and his roommate in college,” Moon told Saturday Down South. “I was there in 1996 and he (Chris) came in 1997, so I know him very well.”

Moon says that “Pruitt’s smart just getting him on staff” even at the running backs position because “he has been ingrained in this stuff (football) forever.”

“Playing with him, he was a coach on the field constantly,” Moon said. “He would hand the ball off on a running play and carry out his fake procedure and then he would watch the play. He would then jump on guys for not making a good block or high-five and celebrate with guys who did make a good block – and that was in the running game. How quarterbacks in college even know what their line’s blocking schemes are and much less on non-pass plays, he has always been tuned into those areas.”

This spring the Tennessee backfield has a lot of moving parts. John Kelly opted to declare early for the NFL Draft, leaving Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, Trey Coleman, Carlin Fils-aime, James Christian and Chip Omer listed as running backs on Tennessee’s spring roster. Fils-aime has spent time as a defensive back this spring and wide receiver Princeton Fant has practiced as a running back.

Pruitt and his staff are still trying to figure out their personnel during the install portion of spring practices. Having Weinke as the unit’s position coach helps in Moon’s eyes – especially teaching blocking schemes.

“What are the developmental needs when you are talking about running backs,” Moon asked and explained. “Number one, running backs are not there unless they can run. Sure you may have to sharpen a guy up with reading zone blocking, but by and large they run through holes. But where they have to develop is in blocking schemes, as far as pass protection and how sharp they are in their pass routes.

“So you have a guy (Weinke) that is historically a quarterback and they’re going to be absolute experts in two areas that running backs always need, fundamentally need, help developing in – pass blocking and route running. His expertise will be there.”

Weinke comes to Tennessee after serving as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2017, Pruitt’s last season at Alabama as defensive coordinator. Moon says “being a Florida State former player,” Tennessee hiring Pruitt “is an excellent pickup too” and that his alma mater “Florida State has not had a defense since Pruitt was defensive coordinator in 2013.”

Before Alabama, Weinke was quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams from 2015-2016. Prior to his NFL stint, Weinke was the program director at IMG Academy from 2010-2014.

Weinke had a 7-year NFL career from 2001-2007, playing with the Carolina Panthers (2001-2006) and the San Francisco 49ers (2007), then worked in the finance and business profession before getting back into football at IMG Academy in 2010. Weinke’s college football career began in 1992 and delayed as he departed to play minor league baseball through the 1996 season and returned to Florida State to play football from 1997-2000.

“I have always wondered what his length of time it has taken him to get into coaching, but he took a different route after playing in the NFL and went into finance and business and then took a different route with IMG Academy,” Moon said. “Then he had an opportunity to become a quarterbacks coach in the NFL with the Rams. I would have Chris on my staff at any position because he is serious about football and it’s in his DNA. Even as a 26-year-old college player, he could hold his teammates to a higher standard and to keep people around him performing.

“Chris has been a coach the last 20-plus years; think about Chris coming into college and learning the system at Florida State and then left before school started. The reason why you have two-a-days and all the pre-camp stuff is to learn your offense and to be able to execute it at a high level.

“He went through that whole process back in 1992 and then went and played baseball. He got indoctrinated and then left and came back, it was kind of like having an extra coach in spring practice when he came back. He already knew the X’s and O’s, it was just a matter of plugging in different terminology that had changed.”