A message from Pruitt tonight to Tennessee fans and others

#52
#52
Honest Question, NS, Kirby, JP, and Muschamp all run the same defense and similar offenses. They will be going head to head on many of the same guys. you're a 5 star from TX with offers from all four. Do you not see a clear pecking order of where the most talent will go? the flame out on signing day wasn't because Pruitt came late, he and his staff had excellent relationships with all the guys prior to UT. It is because when push comes to shove the Alpha's don't want PT on a bad roster they want to compete with and beat the best on their own team. Pruitt will get his guys and he will steal some from UA & UGA because he's a good recruiter. But all things being equal he is more behind the 8 ball than NS or KS. There will be some good battles going forward I just don't think Pruitt is quite the recruiter the other two are.
 
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#53
#53
BowlBrother85 said:
Jones would have made excuses - and it really would be perfectly legitimate to talk about the late start and dealing with an early signing period for the first time. He also could focus on how much the class improved from the time he was hired. The early signing period went better than expected except for Mays. He could talk about JJ Peterson not even being on Tennessee's radar on December 8th. He understands there is some concern and isn't tone deaf to it as Jones often was.
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Jones spent more time self promoting than any coach I can recall. He was ridiculous from day one( Best Staff in America) and he knew he really didn't deserve the job although he was too arrogant to actually admit it.

Butch bashing aside, the Vols got pretty well kicked in the teeth in recruiting this year.

Could be expected with the coaching change but landing some guys like Mays, Copeland, and a couple others could have taken the sting off. Didn't happen though.
 
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#55
#55
guido4198 said:
Sooooo...
He doesn't put much stock in recruiting rankings. quote: "For us the rankings don't really matter".
But he makes it a point that NEXT year..he'll be laser focused on achieving the #1 ranking. even though those ranking don't matter.
??????????
He basically just said I'm not taking any responsibility for the 2018 season but just you "Wait til next year". :eek:
I like this guy. I believe he wants to build a SOLID team. It's going to be a real challenge to bring in the talent it takes to compete at the top 5 level that Tennessee expects, and he knows it. I think he's warning against "irrational exuberance".
I suspect he could get a real and immediate turnaround going if he was coaching in the Ohio Valley Conference. In the SEC....not so much. It's going to take time and we need to let it happen. I think that's what he's trying to tell us.
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Oh good Lord! Stop trying to dissect, scrutinize, and overanalyze every single word out of the man's mouth. What are you, a lawyer? What the hell is he supposed to say? If you really think we are sitting with the 20th ranked class right because somehow CJP and his staff didn't do their jobs, you literally know nothing about recruiting. Stop acting like the 2017 season and the coaching search debacle didn't happen!
 
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#56
#56
Vato said:
I keep telling myself 6-6 is all we need next year. Anything above that is a bonus.
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Exactly. Given the last few months plus yesterday, 6-6 would be more than meeting realistic expectations for this dumpster fire.
 
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#57
#57
guido4198 said:
Sooooo...
He doesn't put much stock in recruiting rankings. quote: "For us the rankings don't really matter".
But he makes it a point that NEXT year..he'll be laser focused on achieving the #1 ranking. even though those ranking don't matter.
??????????
He basically just said I'm not taking any responsibility for the 2018 season but just you "Wait til next year". :eek:
I like this guy. I believe he wants to build a SOLID team. It's going to be a real challenge to bring in the talent it takes to compete at the top 5 level that Tennessee expects, and he knows it. I think he's warning against "irrational exuberance".
I suspect he could get a real and immediate turnaround going if he was coaching in the Ohio Valley Conference. In the SEC....not so much. It's going to take time and we need to let it happen. I think that's what he's trying to tell us.
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I think he's telling this going to be a lot harder than he expected coming from the green pastures of Tuscaloosa without having done it before. Bottom line: between the whiffs and attrition we just lost a class; UGA turned into a guaranteed loss for the next three seasons; our head coach told us not to expect to win this Fall; and we now have confirmation that this staff is not a bunch of miracle workers as some seemed to think.
 
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#58
#58
I have no idea if we have a good head coach or not.

I have no idea if he's an elite recruiter or if the schools he's coached at was the real reason for his success.

I have no idea if our DC will be a good one or not.

I have no idea if our OC will be a good one or not.

I have no idea if our team is going to be better or worse.

Having said all that, there's one thing I am sure of...I'm 100% positive that none of you know for sure either. We wont know for a couple of years. Sad but true.

I'm also sure that I'm not going to write him off as a failure because he didn't finish with a top 15 class after only being here for a little over a month.

Take Texas for example, 25th ranked class last year and a sub par year on the field and after one full year on the job, the coach pulls in a top 5 class.

The moral of this story....JUST CHILL until we have more proof...positive or negative.
 
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#59
#59
volfanbill said:
If you can't stand people airing out their grievances, grow up and go away. See how that works against you too?
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I didn’t tell anyone to go away. I said “if you can’t stand to watch, don’t”. We all have the choice as to how we choose to view life’s ups and downs. I have learned, the hard way, to not fret over things I cannot control. That never works against me.

I’ll reserve my opinion on this staff until I see how well they develop players, game plan, coach, and yes...recruit. For me, it’s way too early to form an opinion, although I am impressed with what I have seen and heard so far.

But for those who have already pronounced this staff as failing, my question would be then why do you bother to wallow in your misery here? Go fishing, play golf, build a birdhouse, whatever. Life is short; live happy.

Oh, and Go Vols.
 
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#60
#60
I could actually understand Coach Pruitt...that was a great feeling right there...:eek:lol:...2019 is the YORT (Year of Recruiting Tennessee)...believe we'll finally win a couple we shouldn't this year...it's gonna be good, believe it or not...:yahoo:

PS. feels good to have a staff you feel can actually coach, prepare and scheme to your strengths and your opponent's weaknesses...anyway, as always...

GO VOLS!
 
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#61
#61
VolunteerHillbilly said:
I think he's telling this going to be a lot harder than he expected coming from the green pastures of Tuscaloosa without having done it before. Bottom line: between the whiffs and attrition we just lost a class; UGA turned into a guaranteed loss for the next three seasons; our head coach told us not to expect to win this Fall; and we now have confirmation that this staff is not a bunch of miracle workers as some seemed to think.
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Holy **** remove the razor blade from your wrist. Why is UGA a for sure loss? They have always as a whole recruited better than us, because its Georgia.
 
#62
#62
If this had been Butch he would’ve praised this class and been happy with the 20 talented individuals he signed. Pruitt knows he’s gotta do better. That in itself gives me hope.
 
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#63
#63
Pruitt's no Anne Sullivan, but it ain't exactly Helen Keller he'll be working with either.
 
#64
#64
I couldn't give a crap less about stars! I am looking forward to what coach Pruitt can do with the kids he has. Putting your hopes and dreams in the rating that a bunch of high school kids have is pointless. Where did Dooley or Jones take us with all those stars? I am excited for UT football in 2018!
 
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#65
#65
dan4vols said:
I like the cut of this new coach, confident and calm. If he surrounds himself with position coaches that can and will coach position discipline, we'll be pleased I think.
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I watched the stream of last nights recruiting celebration and the thing that jumped out at me the most is the defensive staff and the way they communicated with the crowd. I especially liked listening to Tracy Rocker and Chris Rumph. Both are veryu intense personalities and put that on full display last night.
 
#66
#66
The QUESTION is... Who is going to hold him accountable for his statements???

Not many on THIS board. If PruVitt doesn't reel in a Top 5 class next year, what's the excuse going to be?
 
#67
#67
jpope9 said:
Holy **** remove the razor blade from your wrist. Why is UGA a for sure loss? They have always as a whole recruited better than us, because its Georgia.
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It's true that Georgia has much better talent than Tennessee as a state, but I don't think it's true they have always recruited better than us.

UGA is becoming the Bama of the East. It's legitimately something to be concerned about.
 
#68
#68
I just have to wonder, would we have done better if he left Bama when he took the job here. My guess is it couldn’t have hurt but I guess winning at Bama was more important to him than recruiting at UT.
 
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#69
#69
VolArmy74 said:
8th in the SEC and a worse performance in recruiting than even Dooley in the 3 weeks or so he had following the Kiffin fiasco. All I have to say is he better be a damn excellent coach.
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Dooley didn't follow the worst season in UT history (winless in the SEC, squeaking by cupcakes) and one of the most pathetic coaching searches in college football history.

UT has become a laughing stock, and if you can't see that, you are blind.

This will take time to repair.
 
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#70
#70
dcm3w said:
Remind me when Dooley took over a 4-8 program that was winless in the SEC and had tumultuous coaching search that was national sports headlines? When you let me know when that happened then you can criticize Pruitt.
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You mean like a coaching fiasco after our head coach left us high and dry after ONE season? Right in the middle of recruiting season. THAT type of fiasco?

The excuse making for Pruitt is absurd.
 
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#71
#71
It's no wonder we get trolled by recruits and ESPN with so many negative childish posters on Volnation.We just had the worst season ever and CJP has not even taken the field here and we're already defeated next year without even lacing them up.
It's sad we have so many ignorant posters that believe we should be pulling in a top 10 class after the fiasco that was 2017.The kids follow these forums and social media but know it all mouthy fans that never even played NCAA football think they could out coach Nick Saban and throw TD's every play.I've been embarrassed to be a Volunteer following this forum lately.

I think our 2018 season will rely so heavily on the QB position as it does most seasons that it is my biggest concern.If our QB's want to be winners and help our team compete next year they need to put in so much work this off season and I'd love Peyton Manning to reach out to them to help lay the ground work for the preparation it will take to become an elite QB.

So many Chicken Little's on VN but I do realize there are many more great fans that don't feel the need to spew their fears on a forum but unfortunately the mouthy Chicken Little's get the attention and get us all labeled.Give CJP a season or at the very least a few games before the Sky is Falling with every post.
 
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#73
#73
jeff1vol said:
You mean like a coaching fiasco after our head coach left us high and dry after ONE season? Right in the middle of recruiting season. THAT type of fiasco?

The excuse making for Pruitt is absurd.
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That doesn't even compare to this coaching search. You didn't see Vols fans on national news protesting a hiring of a coach and then being turned down by almost every coach available. Not to mention the fact that most recruits were on the fence or left by the time Butch was gone. Lane left us in a bad way but that was when tennessee wasn't a joke in the SEC so recruiting wasn't going to drop off too much.
 
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#74
#74
VEKZY said:
Dooley didn't follow the worst season in UT history (winless in the SEC, squeaking by cupcakes) and one of the most pathetic coaching searches in college football history.

UT has become a laughing stock, and if you can't see that, you are blind.

This will take time to repair.
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If you can't remember the crapshow we were when Kiffin left, you're senile. We were under NCAA investigation, everyone was still pissed because we fired Fulmer, Kiffin bolted in the middle of the night, late in recruiting season and that entire staff tried it's best to sabotage every person we'd been recruiting to that point. Plus Dooley was an idiot.

P.S we were on a 2 year run of being 12-13 at that time. Right now we're on a 2 year run of being 13-12.
 
#75
#75
I just don't get all the negativity. We just finished dead last in the SEC, had the worst season ever, have not been relevant in any real way in almost a decade, the absolute most embarrasing coaching search in memory, and some how pulled a top 20 recruiting class. We are dang lucky! Most schools with that resume would kill for a top 40!

We are not the Tennesse of the 90's. We are the Tennessee of the 10's and it ain't pretty right now.

I believe we have some great talent on this team already. They just haven't been coached in any real way since high school. My hope is that we have a coaching staff that can coach them up like real college coaches do. I feel very optimistic about the future, but it isn't going to happen overnight. Patience is a virtue.
 
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