Pruitt: 'Speed can be overrated'

#3
#3
Had a boss in the Army who had a similar pet phrase: "son, going 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction isn't going to get you to the goal, it's just gonna get you farther away from it faster."

Sounds like Jeremy is reassuring our lads that they can be just as good as any team full of 5* players (*cough* Bama), as long as they do a good job learning from his coaches how to play smart.
 
  • Like
Reactions: malinoisvol, rbjnet, Volanta and 9 others
#5
#5
VFL-82-JP said:
Had a boss in the Army who had a similar pet phrase: "son, going 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction isn't going to get you to the goal, it's just gonna get you farther away from it faster."

Sounds like Jeremy is reassuring our lads that they can be just as good as any team full of 5* players (*cough* Bama), as long as they do a good job learning from his coaches how to play smart.
Click to expand...

I mean I don't know if it's really a reassuring thing... It's actually the truth... Do you want to a running back who runs east and west that is super fast or one who runs North and South Everytime he gets the ball. I'd say North and South gets you the most yardage in the long run.

As for defensive players a lot of our issues last year in the secondary was attributed to angles. Bad angles/tackling allowed guys to break big plays on us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VFL-82-JP
#6
#6
VolBraniac said:
Tennessee Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt says 'speed can be overrated'
Click to expand...

That’s what you say when you want more speed. Then when you have more speed you change the tune. It’s a musical chair thing where coaches make the best out of what they have and market/coach it according to what they have to work with. It’s not Einstein stuff, it’s just making good with what you have.

When they get into a game against a big, fast and strong team that can hit the edges fast with authority they will tell the fans they need to recruit more speed. It’s a life cycle of evolution in the game and putting out the best mindset for whatever your circumstances are at the time. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s also not like most coaches are making radical and game changing comments when they say it’s better to run in the right direction. Think that’s been pretty well covered over the years.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: k-town_king, Evol, shotgun83 and 3 others
#7
#7
Rooster1 said:
That’s what you say when you want more speed. Then when you have more speed you change the tune. It’s a musical chair thing where coaches make the best out of what they have and market/coach it according to what they have to work with. It’s not Einstein stuff, it’s just making good with what you have.
Click to expand...
Actually he said it was great to have speed, but it is more important to take the right angles. It wasn't a knock on speed at all by what Pruitt said. Once again the writeup is a little misleading. A player taking the right angle will get there, of course the faster the player the better. That's how players that lack speed but somehow always make plays do it, by instinct and proper angles. Speed can be overrated when you are not taking good angles. GBO!!!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Booker512, TN_Transplant, rbjnet and 6 others
#8
#8
Rooster1 said:
That’s what you say when you want more speed. Then when you have more speed you change the tune. It’s a musical chair thing where coaches make the best out of what they have and market/coach it according to what they have to work with. It’s not Einstein stuff, it’s just making good with what you have.
Click to expand...

Agree, if you are slow, it doesn't make any difference which way you are going.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sanglemangle, savannahfan, Ned Ray McWorkher and 1 other person
#10
#10
Just goes to show that if you’re “real” and talk with common sense, things are perceived about like you say them. Case in point, can you imagine if Butch tried to say this? Somehow I think it would be up there with 5* hearts.
 
#11
#11
This is not a CJP quote. He most likely got this from Gene Stallings. Gene said that a 4.4 will get you out of the play in a hurry on defense. Can't remember the whole quote, but its a good one and very true.
 
#18
#18
eskimovol said:
I forget who it was but during a game I was watching some former defensive player got asked if he ran a 4.4 when he played. His response was no but he caught a lot of players who did.
Click to expand...

That's good. The moment I saw this thread title, I thought back to a few years ago, hearing all about our speed and thinking I don't want to hear all about that, before the season -- show it on the field, but play (practice and train) wisely, first.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eskimovol and Pruitt Will Do It
#21
#21
Years ago I played for a very good HS program in western NC. In my Soph year we made the playoffs for the first time under a new coach that reminds me of Pruitt some. In the semi-finals we played a school with several college prospects including a RB that eventually signed with Clemson. A radio interviewer smugly asked our coach what our 40 times were... He said, "I don't know we don't time our players". The reporter followed up with, "Well, how fast are your players?" Coach didn't flinch... "As fast as they need to be".

We played great assignment football, beat that team 23-0 in route to an undefeated State Championship.

Moral of the story. Play your assignment. Get to where you're supposed to be.... and hit like a hammer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TN_Transplant, VolSteve, gisman and 10 others
#22
#22
Jerry Rice ran like a 4.6 or . 7. It’s all about fundamentals and execution. I’m not discounting the value of speed, because that’s a huge factor and influences the game. However, when you can master the technique and speed it will be a great thing to watch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TN_Transplant and Woodlawn VOL
#23
#23
sjt18 said:
Years ago I played for a very good HS program in western NC. In my Soph year we made the playoffs for the first time under a new coach that reminds me of Pruitt some. In the semi-finals we played a school with several college prospects including a RB that eventually signed with Clemson. A radio interviewer smugly asked our coach what our 40 times were... He said, "I don't know we don't time our players". The reporter followed up with, "Well, how fast are your players?" Coach didn't flinch... "As fast as they need to be".

We played great assignment football, beat that team 23-0 in route to an undefeated State Championship.

Moral of the story. Play your assignment. Get to where you're supposed to be.... and hit like a hammer.
Click to expand...
Maroon Devil?
 
#25
#25
I agree with what Pruitt said, I am usually screaming at the TV when I see a player running backwards to try to get around a tackler. That being said, I have seen 3 who could actually do it and make it work: Barry Sanders, Deon Sanders, and Cordarrelle Patterson.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HuntlandVolinColo
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top