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Tennessee defensive line commit reacts to news of Jimmy Brumbaugh’s dismissal

Michael Wayne Bratton

By Michael Wayne Bratton

Published:

North Carolina native Isaac Washington has been through this before.

When the 6-foot-3, 268-pound lineman first committed to Jeremy Pruitt’s program, Tracy Rocker was Tennessee’s defensive line coach. Following Rocker’s offseason departure from Tennessee to South Carolina, the Gamecocks quickly extended a scholarship offer to Washington.

However, after meeting Rocker’s replacement at Tennessee, Jimmy Brumbaugh, Washington reaffirmed his commitment to the Vols.

Now, four games into Brumbaugh’s tenure on Rocky Top, the defensive line coach is out as Jeremy Pruitt made the decision to dismiss the assistant coach over the weekend.

“Yesterday I decided to make a change at the d-line position,” Pruitt said on his decision to remove Brumbaugh from Tennessee’s staff. “Coach Brumbaugh done a really nice job for us, worked his tail off. Sometimes, from a philosophical standpoint, things are just not a fit, and it just didn’t work out for us. So I decided to do that and I’m going to coach the d-line for the rest of the season.”

How did that news sit with Washington?

Better than you’d probably think.

Here’s what the North Carolina native shared on Monday evening:

That’s good news for a Tennessee program set to potentially lose a number of defensive linemen to graduation this offseason.

Washington is rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 43 defensive tackle in the nation and the No. 39 overall prospect from North Carolina in the 2021 recruiting cycle by 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Tennessee’s 2021 Recruiting Class

Player Rank/Position Stars State
Terrence Lewis #1 outside linebacker 5-star Florida
Dylan Brooks #1 weak side DE 4-star Alabama
Aaron Willis #10 outside linebacker 4-star Maryland
Cody Brown #9 running back 4-star Georgia
Kaemen Marley #5 athlete 4-star North Carolina
KaTron Evans #10 defensive tackle 4-star Maryland
Kaidon Salter #7 dual-threat QB 4-star Texas
Hudson Wolfe #7 tight end 4-star Tennessee
Jordan Mosley #44 receiver 4-star Alabama
Julian Nixon #47 receiver 4-star Georgia
Walker Merrill #55 receiver 4-star Tennessee
Miles Campbell #18 tight end 3-star Georgia
Roc Taylor #29 athlete 3-star Alabama
Trinity Bell #31 athlete 3-star Alabama
Colby Smith #46 offensive tackle 3-star North Carolina
De’Shawn Rucker #41 safety 3-star Florida
Jaylen Wright #38 running back 3-star North Carolina
Darrell Jackson #43 strong side DE 3-star Florida
Elijah Howard #44 running back 3-star Tennessee
J’Marion Gooch #63 offensive tackle 3-star Tennessee
Edwin White #55 safety 3-star Alabama
Isaac Washington #43 defensive tackle 3-star North Carolina
Jay Jones #73 cornerback 3-star Alabama
Christian Charles Unranked athlete NA Georgia
Michael Wayne Bratton

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

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