In Pruitt's mind it's simple. The slate is clean on Sunday, and you have 5+ days to win the job for the week. Mess up on a Saturday morning on game day during walk-throughs and you might not start. It's why Bryce Thompson, who had four first half tackles including two for loss, an interception and a pass break up, got his first career start.
“Bryce would be the first to tell you he didn't play very well last week,” Pruitt said. “Some of their players had something to do with it and some of his lack of experience and him making some errors had a lot to do with it. The one thing he did is he came back on Monday and he competed. He played with an edge. He practiced with an edge. If he continues to do that then he's going to get better every week. It was drastically different than some of the other guys.
“To me the guys that practice the right way are the guys that are going to play.”