What To Expect From Jeremy Pruitt’s First Season

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We’re just a few weeks away from kickoff versus West Virginia on Sept 1st at 2:30 CST on CBS. Everyone is very anxious to see this first season under Jeremy Pruitt. I’ve been mostly quiet about him since he was hired. Although Aaron Murray may disagree, there hasn’t much to talk about since he hasn’t actually coached a game yet. What should we expect during this first season under Pruitt?

Complete Culture Change

Butch Jones was fun and all, and got this team right academically, but it never felt like this team had unity and there seemed to be a lack of discipline. Think of Jarrett Guarantano pouting on the bench last season. Not only that, but I don’t think we’re gonna see any trash cans or bricks laying around with Pruitt. Those silly cliches and stories we heard about Butch Jones should go away. I think Pruitt took away the gray jerseys just to send the right message. Originally, I didn’t like this move, but I think it tells the players that he is in charge now. I also hope there is a zero tolerance policy for off the field incidents. If you get in trouble off the field, I would imagine that Pruitt will let you go, regardless of your star rating.

Better In-Game Decision Making

You might be thinking, “Smokey, how do you know Pruitt will make better in-game decisions since he hasn’t coached a game?” Easy – under Jones, I’m not sure it could have been worse. I really could go down the list and name all the bone-headed decisions Jones made in crucial game situations, but there is no need in reliving those nightmares. He was the worst in-game coach I’ve ever seen coach football. I think he cost us at least four wins because he refused to adjust at times, and couldn’t make the right decisions in certain game situations.

New Type Of Recruits

I really believe Pruitt recruits with a character-first mentality. If a recruit’s character is not a fit, he doesn’t care about their talent or star rating. He wants people who will buy in to what he is trying to build. I think Jones did the opposite and had a few examples of locker room cancers during his tenure. So far though, Pruitt is doing very well in the recruiting rankings. I honestly don’t think he cares though. He knows the type of player he wants and some just happen to be highly rated. We shouldn’t care as a fanbase what the recruiting class looks like as long as we are seeing the results on the field.

More Flexibility

Pruitt is on the record saying that he will get his best players on the field, even if that means moving them to a different position. I think this is a good idea and shows his willingness to adapt and remain flexible. I would imagine this mentality applies to game planning and swapping players out when needed. Football is a game of adapting to your opponent’s battle plan, and I think Pruitt doesn’t mind throwing the game plan out and making a new one. You should never stick to your game plan if it isn’t working. Sometimes you have to do something new in order to remain in the game.

6 Wins And a Bowl

I don’t think this team is going to be very good. But, I think this team is capable of getting at least six wins and a bowl game. This team will not be one that barely scrapes by to UMass and gets destroyed 41-0 by Georgia. We’ll keep it close in most games and play hard for four quarters. It’s safe to say we will beat ETSU, UTEP and Charlotte. I think we will win three between South Carolina, Vandy, Kentucky, West Virgina, Missouri, Auburn and Florida. Which one of these three we will win, I’m not sure.

I feel pretty confident that these teams aren’t drastically far ahead of us like Georgia and Alabama and that with good coaching and discipline, we can get a win on the teams closer to our level. Could we win only four games again? Sure, and I think it’s possible we could only win three. Could we win as many as eight, though? I think that’s also possible given that the talent on this roster isn’t nearly as bad as the media may have you think.

Smokey covers the Tennessee Volunteers for the SoBros Network. He loves a good backpacking trip, but hates taking a shit in the woods. Follow on Twitter: @SoBroSmokey

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