Jeremy Pruitt's message to recruits: If you want to start at an SEC school, come to Tennessee
After a roller coaster of a season on Rocky Top, Jeremy Pruitt’s first campaign in Knoxville ended with a dud.
Well, two duds if you want to be more accurate.
Getting destroyed at home 50-17 to Missouri was only a precursor for what would happen to the Vols on the road in Nashville, as Tennessee finished its season with a 38-13 loss to Vanderbilt. The Vols were only one game away from making the postseason down the stretch but fell in back-to-back games and will now be sending the holidays at home with a 5-7 record for the season.
Based on what Pruitt had to say after the game, he not only has his eye on recruiting, but he also doesn’t seem to have much faith in the players currently on his roster.
Check out what Pruitt had to say during his postgame press conference, in a video posted by Jordan Crammer of WATE-TV in Knoxville:
"I think if a young man wants an opportunity to have a chance to play in the SEC really early, this would be a good place to start."
Jeremy Pruitt is already on the recruiting trail. #Vols pic.twitter.com/HibjS8WiVa
— Jordan Crammer (@JordanCrammer) November 25, 2018
Clearly, Tennessee’s issues start with talent but the coaches deserve plenty of criticism for the lack of success and inconsistent performances week in and week out this season. That’s something Pruitt acknowledged during the same press conference.
Wow, what an inspiring message.
It’s the truth though…
Wow, what a safe post
If you want to start for a team that gets owned by Vandy every season, UT is absolutely the place for you! Or Middle Tennessee State. Whichever.
We have lost to them the past few seasons but saying we lose to them every season is just not accurate. Unless there have only been 3 seasons of college football played. But I guess you are just being a smart@$$ and need some attention?
well… vandy has won 5 of the last 7. i wouldn’t call it an anomaly anymore.
A bad carpenter blames his tools. What a terrible way to crap on your players.
Truth hurts sometimes. We need a whole new oline and dline. And that’s just the start..
This rings of desperation. Tennessee was in the running for several big recruits 2 weeks ago. But you got to wonder,after these 2 miserable performances by the coaches and players, how many did we just lose. I think Pruitt knows that and is trying to do damage control by suggesting guaranteed playing time immediately.
Coach Pruitt, one might very well say the same thing about being and SEC coach. You can evaluate your roster as crap in March. But you’ve had from then until now and 12 games to make something of this. Name me the players and positions that have elevated their level of play since September.
12 games in coach and this team looks no different than they did against WVU. That isn’t the roster, that’s coaching. Even bad players should look a little better by season’s end if they are well coached. But that isn’t the case, is it?
Nobody expects a miracle worker around here, but hard work is the minimum. I can’t tell from Saturday night’s game that any work is going on.
Pruitt’s comment is eerily similar to one made by Charlie Weis while coaching at Kansas. After touring the campus, Weis took potential recruits to a scheduled practice and said…”Take a look at that pile of s**t out there. If you can’t play here, where can you play?”
Wow what a message of leadership….UT has a long way to go and I don’t see JP as the one to get them back, he is not a Top Tier HC.The SEC East will be a UGA/UF battle for the next 4-5 years.
Wow. The “I think Coach Pruitt is an old school, hard nosed, no nonsense, high standard, exactly what we need at Tennessee” bus is breaking down already. Hey Pruitt, you suck!!!!!
All kinds of wrong. That’s something you tell kids in their living rooms, not a press conference.