KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt said he was pleased with the offense’s response following Tuesday’s practice at Haslam Field.
The Vols were in full pads for their seventh practice of the spring on a windy, but beautiful day with temperatures in the 70s.
“I thought today the guys in the white shirts responded,” Pruitt said. “We had two days off, and they did a good job of competing as a unit, they had a good competitiveness about them, overcoming some adverse situations. We really improved I felt like again today.”
Pruitt has been complimentary of the offense before during spring practice. The Vols lost starting running back John Kelly, tight end Ethan Wolf and several key offensive linemen, but return quarterbacks Jarrett Guarantano (six starts) and Will McBride (one start) and leading receivers Marquez Callaway (five touchdowns) and Brandon Johnson (37 receptions), left tackle Drew Richmond (seven starts) and several other players who will have the opportunity to make their mark. Freshman All-America offensive lineman Trey Smith, who will miss all of spring practice, also returns.
Pruitt said he has enjoyed the energy level at practice from that side of the ball.
“Every day, there’s lots of positives,” Pruitt said. “I felt like in the last couple of practices, our offense, whether they’re doing it right or not, there’s a little bit more juice on that side. It’s gotten a little bit contagious, so it’s good to see.”
Tuesday marked the halfway point for spring practice for the Vols, but the first-year head coach said he will wait to judge each position group until after the Big Orange’s first scrimmage this Saturday.
“I think spring football is kind of like a game,” Pruitt said. “It’s not so much about how you start, it’s how you finish. You have to try to do the best you can every time you get an opportunity. We’ve had good days and we’ve had days that weren’t exactly what we wanted. They’re learning lessons for us. I can assure you everybody has been confronted about when it was done right and when it was done wrong.”
Tennessee Looks to Host Vol Nation in Neyland Stadium for DISH Orange and White Game
This year’s DISH Orange and White Game will be the first public look at new head coach Jeremy Pruitt’s program. The event, on April 21, will feature a live game at 2 p.m., using standard scoring and rules, and several other new fan-friendly promotions. Pruitt hopes fans will treat the annual exhibition at Neyland Stadium like it’s a Saturday in the fall.
Admission and parking are free. Free shuttles will be provided from the UT Ag Campus and the Kingston Pike Building (Lot 40). The clear bag policy for Neyland Stadium will be in effect.
In addition to the live game where the first team offense will face the first team defense, Tennessee has several other promotions scheduled, including:
9:30 a.m. – Toyota Vol Village in Lot 9 opens, which includes give-aways, face painting, music, photos with Smokey and the spirit squad, food options, inflatable games, interactive areas and more.
12:30 p.m. – Gates Open
The first 5,000 fans in Gates 10 and 21 will receive a free “Fan-dana” from Coca-Cola.
12:55 p.m. – The Vol Walk
2 p.m. – Kickoff
Additional events and promotions will be announced soon.
Pruitt Announces August Fan Day For Autographs
Tennessee will transition the autograph session, which has been a part of the Orange and White Game in the past, to a date in early August during fall camp. The transition will give fans an additional opportunity to watch a Tennessee practice inside Neyland Stadium. Following the August Fan Day open practice, fans will be able to meet the players and coaches and collect autographs.
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Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt Press Conference Transcript – April 3, 2018
Opening Statement
“I thought I was going to wait you guys out. We had some wind out there today, so we had to change the field we were practicing on so we could get it videoed. So we were out there a little longer than we needed to be. Again, I thought today the guys in the white shirts responded. We had two days off, and they did a good job of competing as a unit, they had a good competitiveness about them, overcoming some adverse situations. We really improved I felt like again today. I’ll have to watch the tape, but just the energy — I don’t know if they were stepping in the right direction, or if they were putting their hats in the right spot or running the right routes — but if you just watch the practice, those guys looked like they were enjoying what they were doing. So we have to get everybody doing that and get it to where it’s contagious.”
On what he hopes to see from the team during Saturday’s scrimmage:
“On offense, I’d like to see ball security, sideline organization with getting the calls, getting lined up, identifying the front, making sure we’re in the right play, right splits at the wide receiver position — just the details, because that’s where it starts. And then I want to see guys play with good pad level and play until the whistle blows. Going in the right direction up front, knowing your assignment, you step with the correct foot, you play with the right body lean, play until the whistle blows and secure the ball. In the throw game, we need to run the right routes, we need to protect. The quarterback needs to get the ball out of his hand and make good decisions. When we do scramble, we need to get two hands on the football. Defensively, it starts with sideline communication. We have to get the calls, have to get lined up. So there’s a lot of details with both sides of the ball, and same with the kicking game. There’s a lot of things that I would like to see, but I hope that I see lots of effort and paying attention to details.”
On the quarterbacks adjusting to huddling more:
“We’re huddling up, we’re no huddling and we’re mixing up tempo, so I don’t think there’s much to it. Whether it’s making one-word calls if you’re going to play fast or making the whole calls if you’re in a huddle. I think every offense does both and has it down, so I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. It all starts with communication, whether it’s hand signals or verbal.”
On the absence of music playing at practice:
“I don’t think they play music during football games. I’ve never heard it, maybe they do. I like to coach, and I like for the people to be able to hear me when I do coach. We only have 20 hours in a week where we can coach them, so I darn sure don’t want music out there where they can’t hear what I’m saying.”
On how the players are doing focusing on fundamentals:
“First of all, when you started asking me about what I wanted to see on Saturday, there’s so many things that I wanted to see that I could stand up here and talk for probably about 24 hours about what I’d like to see. And to me, that’s how much details that we need to improve on. We’re starting over. We’re starting from scratch. It’s a new offense, it’s a new defense, it’s new special teams. So it’s the first time for a lot of things. Our guys are learning an understanding exactly what we want from a day to day basis.”
On being pleased with the offense:
“Well, this is practice number seven. I’ve been pleased with the offense more than two practices. Every day, there’s lots of positives. One thing in football is that it takes all 11 guys. Sometimes, to me in high school ball, college ball, I’ve never coached in pro ball, but, if you want to, you can find a way and you can figure it out. To me, I felt like in the last couple of practices, our offense, whether they’re doing it right or not, there’s a little bit more juice on that side. It’s gotten a little bit contagious, so it’s good to see.”
On the progression of the physicality of the offensive line:
“First of all, you have to kind of be careful when you practice in full pads. I know that kind of sounds crazy when you’re talking about playing football. It’s a physical game, but when you’re going to practice you have to learn how to practice, so you’ve got to play with the right body angle, so there’s a way you can strike and come out of your hips on both sides of the ball and be physical, but you have to be under control, so you’re not falling all over the place. And that goes with the linebackers and the running backs because you don’t need people on the ground. Right now, every practice that we’ve had has been thudded. So, we’re staying on our feet, which is the way we need to be, and we’re learning how to practice. It will be interesting to see when we go scrimmage when there’s not a coach out there, when things aren’t going either side’s way, how do they respond? When they get tired, how do they respond? Are they going to let the weather affect how they play? Are they going to let a bad play affect the next play? There’s a lot of things that we have to find out about each guy, and we’re doing it every day.”
On emergence or progression from players at the cornerback position:
“Well, we’re playing a lot of guys back there, and we’re moving guys around. So, a lot of the time, I can tell you right now, on both sides of the ball, we’re probably exposing them to a lot. So, it’s not always perfect and they don’t always exactly know because they’re changing positions, but there’s one thing about it, you’ve got to expose them to it, because on the defensive side, you’re going to see it in the fall, and you can always pull back. You can always pull back and say ‘hey, I don’t think we need to be doing this much.’ But right now, we’re exposing them to everything that we do, so I’m sure that a lot of their heads are swimming a little bit, and it probably does affect their play. But when we go scrimmage, we’ll make it simple, and if we have to call one call on defense we’ll just call one call, so everybody knows what to do, there’s no excuse, and the best players show up.”
On if the team has made the progress that he thought they would halfway through spring practice:
“I think spring football is kind of like a game. It’s not so much about how you start, it’s how you finish. You have to try to do the best you can every time you get an opportunity. We’ve had good days and we’ve had days that weren’t exactly what we wanted. They’re learning lessons for us. I can assure you everybody has been confronted about when it was done right and when it was done wrong.”
On the coaching staff being able to get everyone on the same page:
“Everyone that is on our staff is here for a reason. I wanted them here and they wanted to be here. They believe in what we are trying to get done in every part of the organization. We’re all on the same page.”
On the players that changed positions staying in their new position or going back to their old position after the halfway point:
“I’m a big believer that you want to expose them to what they are going to see that day. If it’s from an offensive standpoint, what you’re doing for the teaching progression. Our offense is actually doing a lot, which is good for us. The best teams do. It’s exposing our guys and creating multiples. If you don’t meet and show them what to do and how to do it, it’s hard for them to figure it out. Our guys are learning how to ask the right questions in the meeting. First of all, they’re learning to ask questions. There for a while, they would raise their hand before they talked. I think a lot of that is new. Everything is new that is going on in meetings and we’re getting better at it.”
On learning about Jarrett Guarantano and his toughness this spring:
“I think it’s too early to tell with all of our guys, at all positions. In a practice setting, each day whether we’re going to be in basic or slot formations, we’ve got something we are working on. We’ve kind of done it in stages and you build your practice plan accordingly. I think it’s a lot easier to figure out how everyone is developing, and once you put it all together in a scrimmage situation, you can get an idea of exactly where you’re at. Until we do that, it’s going to be hard to tell.”
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