One last note before I go back to figuring out how we win every game this year.
Yesterday when I was watching the player interviews something seemed off. Of course our media was its normal obnoxious self but something seemed really unusual relative to most of the player interviews I've watched in recent years. After pondering that for some time it came to me that the guys seemed to be almost in like a bit of shock. I didn't detect the cocky edge we sometimes see from our guys. I was wondering if maybe something was wrong. I went back and checked my notes and I guess I'm a bit embarrassed to realize I was caught off guard.
One area that disappointed Jeremy Pruitt after Tennessee's first scrimmage was the body language of his team.
The new coach of the Vols claimed he could turn around and not watch the play, but know what happened on the play just from the non-verbal cues and the reaction of his players what had happened after the ball was snapped.
Pruitt also lamented some of his players allowing poor plays to affect them beyond the bad moment.
That intangible aspect certainly was one area Pruitt was hoping to see improved when Tennessee held its second scrimmage on Saturday night, a closed practice at Neyland Stadium, after addressing it with the entire team last week.
"I think you've got to hold them accountable," Pruitt said after Thursday's practice.
"It's interesting, you've got some guys, when they make a good play, their whole chest swells up and they kind of get that walk bout them. But the same guy, two plays later, whether he misses a tackle, throws an interception, drops the ball, misses a block — you look out there and he's got his head down.
"I mean, either you're the guy with your chest swollen up all the time or you're the other way, so you've got to learn to fight through it. It's not always going to go perfect. You've got to play the next play.
"The best players are not perfect. They're going to make mistakes. They all have. Everybody does. You've got to learn to play the next play."
Tennessee Vols football: Jeremy Pruitt holding Vols 'accountable' for bad body language
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt indicated the players he said “flat out quit” will be outed when people watch the game replay.
“The film don’t lie,” Pruitt said several times during his press conference after the Orange team won 34-7 over a White team that featured the first-team defense.
Pruitt was furious with what he perceived as a lack of effort from some players, and he suggested the Vols won’t arrive as a team until the players hold one another accountable.
“There’s nothing any better than peer pressure,” Pruitt said.
“It’s easy to stand out there with your chest stuck out and pretend you’re somebody that you’re not, but the film don’t lie.”
Pruitt was particularly upset by what he viewed as cowardly tackling efforts.
“When the ball is turned over and a guy turns it down, and we know what turning it down is, you go hit somebody, and you squat your feet, you duck your head, you don’t run through them, that’s turning it down,” Pruitt said. “Guys that do that, film don’t lie. Guys that don’t compete, don’t hustle, film don’t lie.”
Pruitt said the Tennessee football team needs to hold itself to a higher standard. But until then, Pruitt is going to hold them accountable — privately and publicly, it turns out.
“We’ll see eventually around here when we have things the way we want it,” Pruitt said. “I won’t have to police them anymore, they’ll police themselves, because they’ll be so vested in the program that’s paid the price, that they’re not going to let any of their teammates, roommates or whoever let them down, so they’ll confront them.
“But until then, I’ll be the one that does all the confronting.”
WATCH: Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt says 'the film don't lie'
I don't think the guys came across as lacking confidence. I think it maybe was more like whatever I say here I'm going to have to back up. I better be careful.
That was just something I saw or maybe imagined. My sense was that they were generally more measured than usual in their responses, almost like someone up the chain of command had their atttention. jmo.
