KNOXVILLE — Former Alabama defensive back Will Lowery goes way back with Jeremy Pruitt. He, better than most, understands that his former coach has what it takes to implement a regime like he was a part of at Alabama under Nick Saban.

“It’s a lot of work trying to implement a regime like the one he is accustomed to, it is a culture thing from top to bottom,” Lowery told Saturday Down South.

Lowery’s time alongside Pruitt dates to 2004 as a freshman at Hoover High School. That was Pruitt’s first season at Hoover, coaching defensive backs under head coach Rush Propst. Lowery was a student who played other sports.

Pruitt got him excited about football.

“He told me I could be a good player and I was fired up about it and that kind of speaks to his recruiting,” Lowery said. “So that spring (of my freshman year) is when I started spending a lot of time around coach.”

Pruitt became Hoover’s defensive coordinator from 2005-2006, replacing Todd Watson who became head coach at Foley High School, who now serves as Director of Football Operations for Pruitt at Tennessee.

“Pruitt was my defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator from that point on except for my senior year at Hoover, when he left to take the Director of Player Development position at Alabama,” Lowery said. “Then my junior and senior years at Alabama (2010-2011) he was my defensive backs coach.

“Between practice, meetings, film room, games, traveling – just all the stuff that comes with playing I have spent a lot of time with coach Pruitt. We had our ups and downs early on in my high school career, becoming frustrated with him a lot, but looking back he was trying to make me a better player and trying to bring the best out in me; it’s safe to say he was able to get everything out of me that he could get.”

Pruitt left Hoover for an off-the-field position on Saban’s first Alabama staff. It was a small step toward bigger opportunities.

“When he left to go to Alabama, he pulled us aside and told us that he had an opportunity at Alabama,” Lowery said. “He told us that it was not a high level job, but it was a chance for him to get his foot in the door and work his way up. So Kevin Sherrer was my defensive coordinator after he left.”

After graduating from Hoover, Lowery went to Alabama as a student. Not having the measurables, Lowery did not have many options that he liked to play at the next level.

For Lowery, playing at a place like Hoover with a national spotlight as MTV cameras were present chronicling the 2005 and 2006 seasons in a reality show with sold out stadiums, playing on a big stage was his only option and what he was accustomed to. With Pruitt already at Alabama, Sherrer was one that he leaned on the most in his decision to bypass playing at a smaller school — he had offers to Air Force and Navy — and going to Alabama and eventually walking on. Sherrer, of course, is now Pruitt’s defensive coordinator at Tennessee.

“I enjoy the big stage, really,” Lowery said. “So I went to Alabama and was accepted into a fraternity and that spring I still had an itch to compete. So I called coach Pruitt and told him if there is an opportunity to walk on, I would be interested. He talked to coach Saban, then called me back and told me they wanted me to walk on. Coach Sherrer was instrumental about it and he pulled me to the side and explained exactly how it goes as a scout team guy.

“He told me I would be a tackling dummy and if you are lucky you will get one opportunity and you will either capitalize on it or if not you will remain a tackling dummy.

“Coach Pruitt had no doubts that I could play at that level and at least be around. It played out for me to have an opportunity because of our personnel at the time after the 2009 national championship season, by graduating seven of our top eight defensive backs. I realized I could have an opportunity to be on the field in the spring (2010) because we needed bodies. Pruitt was named the position coach, which was huge for me, I can assure you Saban or Pruitt did not give me anything, but it certainly helped me with his trust in me.”

Lowery played in all 13 games in 2010, starting at safety in dime packages and on special teams, recording 33 tackles (21 solo), two interceptions and one pass deflection. Lowery played in 11 games as a senior in 2011 before tearing his ACL on senior day. For the season he posted 20 tackles (14 solo) and two pass deflections as Alabama went on to win the 2011 national championship.

“Pruitt has always emphasized giving maximum effort on every single play, and particularly on defense swarming and running to the ball,” Lowery said. “I can remember as far back as my very first spring practice with Pruitt — as a freshman at Hoover in 2004. He would say things like, ‘you never know what’s going to happen, if you run to the ball who knows you might get a diving pick.’

“A very large part of why I was able to have success and play at Alabama was because I gave maximum effort, and I was coachable. I took those words to heart, like everything else he coached us to do. In my Alabama career, I had two interceptions — both diving picks from simply running to the ball.”

Now at Tennessee, Pruitt is building the program in his vision. Lowery sees similarities between Pruitt and Saban. One has been how much time Pruitt has spent with defensive backs this spring during practices.

Lowery says that there are “tons of similarities” with his two former coaches.

“They are certainly alike in that regard,” he said. “Saban probably more so than Pruitt. Maybe after Pruitt gets the defensive backs to a level where he wants them to be, I would see him spending a little more time with other position groups. Saban is religiously with the defensive backs around the clock, he runs more individual drills in practice.

“If we split up corners and safeties, he goes with the corners and is the one throwing the ball, he is doing the tackling drills, and if we are in a team meeting he is obviously in there and if we split up in team drills he is with the defense. Defensive coaches like Pruitt and Saban can see that in the SEC you have to play from the top down, it starts there and work your way down.

“Pruitt is really a unique guy in terms of football, athletics, developing players and everything that goes into building a program. He and Saban are most alike in that they were put on this Earth to coach football. They are incredibly good at it and that is all they care about. They also have the ‘it’ factor, and are guys you want to go to war with.”