Don't expect this to be a particularly long write-up, in part because no program wants to tip their hand too much in July. That said, I wanted to at least offer up my own impressions of what was said by Jeremy Pruitt, Jarrett Guarantano, Darrell Taylor, and Daniel Bituli today at SEC Media Days.
The first thing that really jumped out at me was Jeremy Pruitt making recruiting pitches from the podium. Pruitt fully understands that recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, and he pushed for recruits to jump on board with some of his comments, most notably a pitch to receiver recruits when he mentioned the four seniors that will be departing from the wide receiver corps. He didn't skip a beat. He just threw it out there that there was a need and playing time to be found in Knoxville.
Another big takeaway is how thrilled everyone seemed to be with the results from the staff shuffling this offseason. It's impossible to think that you can upgrade at offensive coordinator, move a Heisman winning quarterback to quarterback coach, add a national champion quarterback and former offensive coordinator to handle the wide receivers, and shift a well-regarded receivers coach to work with the running backs (who were already pretty gifted receivers), and not find some joy in those changes. Indeed, Pruitt and Guarantano both sang the praises of the changes and their impact on the offense and development of Guarantano as a signal-caller. The defense saw less drastic changes, but Derrick Ansley was praised as well for his work as the defensive coordinator and as the defensive backs coach, both of which are Pruitt's babies. If Jeremy Pruitt is happy with the defensive direction, you have to view that as a net positive.
Confidence. On the list of things I wasn't really expecting, confidence was well up there. Certainly, fans aren't nearly as confident as many have repeated to me predictions that suggest most are leaning toward six or seven wins, and many seem to be ready to waffle on that prediction the moment they have a small flashback to the past. However, Pruitt and company sounded like a group expecting to win 8-10 games this season, which would be a degree of success the vast majority of Tennessee fans could get behind in year two. Now, I'm not telling anyone that this team is going to do that. Don't get me wrong at all. However, this is a staff and group of players that don't sound ready to settle for just getting to a bowl game. They have greater ambitions than that and seem to believe they are capable of accomplishing those goals.
Another thing that was obvious was self-reflection and improvement. Pruitt talked about how his first several months on campus were spent trying to fix things, be it strength and conditioning, facilities, and organizational matters. While dealing in those areas, he lost a focus on building a relationship with the players. He let trust slip through the cracks. In Derek Dooley, the Vols had a big-picture guy who missed out on those relationships. In Butch Jones, they had someone who had the relationships in many cases, but let everything else fall to ruin. Pruitt seems determined not to allow himself to fall into either trap. Guarantano offered up an anecdote about sitting down to dinner with his head coach, hashing things out and developing the type of relationship that allows Pruitt to trust him and vice versa. These are the important steps in building the type of program everyone wants to see. Additionally, Pruitt owned the lack of effort and focus seen in certain games last year that led to the Vols missing out on a very achievable bowl berth.
Pruitt also touched on the very important physical development of this team, reflecting on the fact that he had very few 300+ pound players to work with last year. That has changed. A quick readthrough of the current roster shows a total of 21 players listed at over 300 pounds, and realistically there are probably going to be more when the roster is updated and finalized in the coming weeks. Darrell Taylor talked about his own development and growing comfort at his new weight as he approaches 260 pounds after arriving in Knoxville at around 210 following playing at wide receiver in high school.
Not all the news was ideal, of course. Pruitt didn't shy away from talking about the fact that there aren't many experienced guys on the defensive line and pointed out that the outside linebacker spots are a bit thin. There's still work to be done on the roster to get things to a place where Pruitt will be comfortable. Although he focused on the defensive side of the ball for depth and experience issues, for the most part, he also discussed the lack of experience at quarterback behind Guarantano and the necessity of preparing somebody to handle the backup duties. Although it wasn't explicitly mentioned, I would personally also toss in the running backs as a position group in need of further depth as this spring showed, when walk-on Chip Omer became a more important part of the Orange offense due to Carlin Fils-aime and Eric Gray being unavailable due to injury matters.
Aubrey Solomon and Deangelo Gibbs remain in relative limbo. Although there was an outbreak of excitement yesterday regarding their status, Pruitt confirmed today that there has been no response at this time from the NCAA. Now, while official word might not have come down yet, it's likely that excitement stemmed from something, whether it's a bit of positive feedback from the NCAA or a confirmation of support for the transfer from Michigan. Either way, the staff is moving forward like Solomon will play until something changes.
Trey Smith is also waiting to determine his availability. Pruitt did confirm that Smith and his doctors are working on a plan to allow him to play, whether or not such efforts will be successful is harder to determine. Blood clot issues are tricky to deal with, and whether or not he plays there will still be some degree of risk management and regular medical maintenance. Don't assume he will be available to play. Be hopeful, by all means, but ultimately if he can't play, that's alright. His health has to come first.
My personal takeaway from everything today is that the program is still very much a work in progress, but for those who expected it to take three years for the Vols to become a factor in the East, that may not be the case. The Vols certainly would have to be viewed as a significant long-shot to win the East, but they can have a big influence on where others fall in that pecking order. Tennessee pulled off big upsets last season against Auburn and Kentucky, and they should have won the South Carolina game. The bizarre turnover nightmare against Florida wasn't typical of the Vols last season, so that too seems like a game that could have at least been much more competitive than it was. If this team is fully bought in, which it sounds like they are, the only teams the Vols can't match up with from a talent perspective are Georgia and Alabama, and the coaching staff would seem upgraded. I'm not suggesting the Vols will win ten games, but finding eight wins on the schedule isn't particularly far-fetched. Two bye weeks in the season, falling before the Georgia and Missouri games, can't hurt any either. My takeaway is this is a bowl team and maybe even one capable of finishing as high as third in the East, and after going 9-15 the prior two seasons, that's a gigantic leap in the right direction.
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