The Case for Keeping Pruitt

#1

DiderotsGhost

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#1
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.
 
#3
#3
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.
I think Salter is a Vol no matter what
 
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#4
#4
Lot longer than I thought it would be. I figured it would be some $$ signs because that's the only reason he shouldn't be gone.
 
#7
#7
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.


Only problem with this; it appears playing jg is all Pruitt, and if he can't evaluate qb talent any better than this, it will always be a problem. I feel Pruitt wants to play an offensive scheme like bama used to play before Saban seen what needed to be done to win. It appears Pruitt wants to run, run, and pass on obvious downs, to control the clock, this no longer works regardless of how good of a defense you have. I'm just not sure Pruitt wants an air raid offense. If that is the case we will never be competitive in the sec. I do think we should not fire him this year though, I say one more year and if little to no improvement its time to let him go. But even at this I am uncertain about keeping him, because right now I think there are 3 very good coaches available now for the right money and they may not be available after next year, they are: Freeze, Urban, and Stoops, I think any of them could be brought here with the right money. I will even throw Mark Ritchz in the mix, probably mis spelled his name.
 
#8
#8
Whoa... a lot to read. Just commenting on the high points here:

QB struggles are on Pruitt. He's had 3 years to find a QB. If the best you can do in 3 years is produce what we've got, there's little hope that he'll ever develop a QB good enough to compete for a championship.

Bailey has shown promise? Don't have his stats in front of me but pretty sure he's thrown more INTs than TDs and it seems like he tends to lock onto his receivers like JG. That being said, it's not fair to judge him because he's only been thrown into impossible situations. I want to see him run the offense before passing judgement. So far, he's only played in "must pass" situations.

Recruiting rankings have been good but some of the higher ranked guys like JJ Petersen, Q Crouch, Morris, Wright, and most DBs haven't looked the part. Where is the big time edge rusher? Where is the big time RB? Where is the big time DT? Where is the big time QB?

Pruitt has been quick to address the problems? You'll get roasted for this.
 
#9
#9
I say we demand the winner of Saturday's matchup between Liberty and Coastal be hired as the next head coach at the University of Tennessee! Chadwell is more realistic because of the minimal buyout and will most likely win because his offensive scheme is the best in college football.
 
#12
#12
Ok, today I have had a complete change of heart on Pruitt. I guess I have not ever heard Pruitt’s press conferences before. One reporter asked him that with this additional practice time has he been able to enhance Bailey’s knowledge of the play book to get him ready. His response was that HB has always studied hard and dedicated himself to being prepared. But we just have not been able to find opportunities for him to get onto the field.

This is the coach that Fulmer and the administration think should be our head football coach. I have decided that I hope the Gump stays there for at least two more years just to show the rest of the football world just how smart our AD and administration are. And it is not like the rest of his statements were Einsteinesque. He is dumber than a box of rocks.
 
#15
#15
All due respect DG, I enjoy your posts but disagree.

QB has been a glaring problem most of all the season and it’s not been addressed satisfactorily.

We will be at this point next year except we may have a cupcake win or two thrown in. We will still be getting slaughtered by our rivals and will lose at least one game we shouldn’t.
 
#19
#19
OP was well-stated. I think the good coaching move is to play Bailey now.
Pruitt is like my ex-wife.
Gonna have to look at him until the papers are served.

I gave up on Dooley in the 2nd half of the UF game in 2012.
Gave up on Butch about 60 seconds into that last UGA game.
I am giving up on Pruitt every game when #2 trots to the field. He can still change my mind, but he is losing my goodwill. Recruiting is better and it doesn't seem to matter. That is on him.
If he played Bailey I would loathe him less.
 
#21
#21
OP. So your reason for keep CJP is because CJC hasn't gotten his QB yet....you do realize that CJP has completely killed any QB development by playing and putting time in only on JG..Pruitts choice.....when others has a chance CJP couldn't wait to put JG in at the 1st mistake hindering development of those other QBs....

And you think all those choices and lack of 2nd half adjustments qualifies him for and other couple years????

WOW...
 
#22
#22
I'm as angry as everyone else at this years' performance. I'm not sure Pruitt is "the guy" or not, and I've said that since Day #1, but I also think there's a legit case for why he deserves at least 1-2 more years to figure it out. Here's why:

QB Struggles. I'm not going to mince words: Jarrett Guarantano has been dogs@#$ awful this season. With advanced stats, he's arguably the worst QB in the SEC right now; at the very least, he's in the bottom 3. Vandy's true Freshman QB is arguably better than JG at this point. JG single-handedly lost us that Kentucky game with 3 critical turnovers and in reality, we lost that Auburn game due to JG as well (14 point swing with that pick-6). Even the games JG isn't turning the ball over, he can't move us down the field either. So with a good QB, we're already back to 4-3 against SEC competition. But I'm not even sure we lose to Arkansas with a good QB; we might've even had a shot at Georgia. We're really that close to being a good team.

2018 vs 2020. In 2018, we could've had Peyton Manning behind center and still struggled to hit 6-6 with the terrible O-line play. It's the reverse now. The QB is, by far, the biggest thing holding us back. We are better at almost every other position than QB. The O-line is worlds better. We brought in one of the best WR classes in the country this season; albeit they are young and didn't get the reps in the offseason they needed, but they are going to be good (see Jalin Hyatt!). Our running game is much improved over 2018. The only thing that's worse on offense is the QB.

3-7 vs 7-5. A 3-7 SEC record (our likely result) sucks, but it's also a bit out of context. With our traditional schedule, we're likely 7-5 or 6-6 at the end of the season.

Bailey / Salter. Chaney needs his QB. You might think all of this is hogwash, but to me, this is the biggest point in favor of keeping Pruitt. Chaney hasn't had his QB yet. JG is Butch Jones' QB. Shrout is Helton's QB. Even Maurer was Helton's QB. Kaidon Salter is the first Chaney QB, but Harrison Bailey also probably qualifies as he was recruited at Georgia by Chaney, even if we're not sure if we was their #1 target. I wanna see how Chaney does with Bailey and Salter before throwing in the towel on Pruitt, because right now, I see a reasonably good team with very terrible QB play. If Chaney gets that fixed (and he has a track record of fixing QB play), this might suddenly be a competitive team.

Bailey shows promise. Not much to go on, but Bailey looked very impressive versus Auburn in his one drive. While I'm pissed at Pruitt for not playing Bailey more, I do at least understand the logic. Bailey is a true Freshman who came in during a global pandemic, which basically deprived him of an offseason. Even during the limited offseason, Bailey was quarantined at one point and got very few reps. I don't think Pruitt wants to throw Bailey to the wolves given this and may be playing it very safe as a result (too safe), but I at least understand it. I want to see how Bailey does before jumping to conclusions.

Recruiting has been very good. In spite of the bad, Pruitt brought in one of the best classes in the country last season. He might end up with one of the best this season as well; albeit the lack of progress on the field may be an issue for some recruits. Covid hurt us more than other teams precisely because of this; we were always more dependent upon Freshman talent this year than the rest of the SEC and Covid destroyed our offseason development.

Pruitt has been quick to address problems. I know he has his share of coach-speak (they all do), but Pruitt fired Brumbaugh pretty quickly after seeing problems on the DL. Pruitt has a very Johnny Majors way of handling the staff and I think it may take him more time to get settled than people think.

Like I said, I don't know if Pruitt is "the guy" or not, but at the very least, I want to see another year. I want to see how Chaney does with either Bailey or Salter at QB; see how we do with a full offseason. If Pruitt lets us down at that point, then it's time to look at replacing him, but right now, I see a team that has mostly gotten better, but still sucks because we've been terrible at the most important position on the field. And while Pruitt is partly to blame for some of those issues (including telling Michael Penix to take a hike and taking JT Shrout instead in 2017), we might simply not be seeing the improved results of having Chaney in charge of recruiting QBs yet.

So there it is ... flame away!

But I'll be calling for Pruitt's head just like many of you if I see similar results in 2021. For now, I'm willing to give Pruitt a pass, but if JG is the starter in 2021, I'll probably be screaming "FAHR PRUITT!" with all the other miserables.

The fact that this post exists is a pretty decent indication that we shouldn't keep him.
 
#24
#24
@DiderotsGhost The problem with your post is that your first and main point is 100% on Pruitt. He could have said "we're playing for the future after the O was so terribly anemic against UGA. He didn't. He definitely SHOULD HAVE said that after UK. He didn't. Now he's blown most of the season that could have been used to develop Bailey or perhaps even Maurer. Instead he stubbornly ran JG out there.

I have long defended Pruitt's strategy when he chose to invest in JG almost two years ago. I can even "agree to disagree" with his attachment to JG last year through the Vandy game. But JG has made it painfully obvious that he doesn't have what it takes.... and Pruitt refuses to cut bait. When a strategy fails... you change it. Pruitt refuses to do so.

Until he makes fundamental changes about the way he approaches strategy and philosophy... he needs to be on a VERY short leash. I agree with what many have posted here. He should be gone with a Vandy loss. If he makes it to next year then SIGNIFICANT improvement must happen. I'm talking 9 or 10 regular season win type of improvement. But to be honest... NOT playing his QB of the future screwed him for next year. At best, he's breaking in a new guy who will make new guy mistakes.
 

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