Tennessee football: 5 observations after 10 games with Jeremy Pruitt

Jeremy Pruitt’s first foray as a head coach hasn’t lacked for excitement. Tennessee has had some incredible highs and lows this season and Pruitt has deftly found his way to a potential bowl bid thanks to two wins over ranked teams.

The Vols, who are 5-5 and 2-4 in the SEC, could actually finish the season with a 7-5 record and a 4-4 record in the conference. That would have to be considered a success by most standards. Here are five things we’ve learned about Pruitt after his first 10 games as a head coach:

Pruitt’s teams get better

The Vols have progressively improved over the course of the season. UT looked incredibly outclassed against quality opponents in September. No one would have expected the Vols to actually compete with Auburn, but they did so and actually beat the Tigers. The 14-3 win against Charlotte was certainly not a highlight. However, the Vols continued to play harder and better throughout the season.

Pruitt wants to protect the ball

Pruitt knew one thing coming into this season with the shortcomings on his roster. The Vols couldn’t beat themselves when most of their opposition would already be well equipped to do so. Tennessee has turned the ball over 12 times this season, which is tied for sixth-best in the SEC. That’s not bad considering all of the moving parts UT has had on offense. Pruitt has also made quarterback Jarrett Guarantano very protective of the ball. That has worked. Guarantano has thrown 144 consecutive passes without an interception. That’s a school record.

Pruitt will demand his team is physical

Perhaps a day will come when Pruitt will decide to run a soft, zone-read offense like his predecessor Butch Jones. I’ll believe that when I see it. Pruitt’s teams play hard-nosed football despite being outmanned at times physically. That was especially apparent against Kentucky. Most would have thought the Wildcats would be the more physical team on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but the Vols dominated. UT outrushed Kentucky 215-77 yards on Saturday.

Pruitt and his staff can be flexible

Perhaps the Vols have just been still searching for their identity, but they’ve shown enough different offensive looks to prove their coaches know more than one way to skin a cat. The Vols have relied on the run while using a downfield passing game and a horizontal passing game at different times to exploit teams’ weaknesses. That shows an overall grasp of game-planning and play-calling.

Pruitt is loyal — to players who perform well in practice

Admittedly, I was one of the ones who thought Stanford graduate quarterback transfer Keller Chryst would start the season in front of Guarantano. While Chryst has been above average in games this season, he is not thought of as a great practice player, unlike Guarantano. For recruits considering the Vols, be prepared to practice at a high level or you’ll be sitting the bench on Saturdays.

Dave Hooker

Dave Hooker started covering Tennessee in 1998. He hosts an SEC radio show out of Chattanooga and covers the SEC for Saturday Down South.