Pruitt’s First 25 Games

[YankeeVol]

Eric Gray completely disappeared until the last game of the season and the bowl game against two very pedestrian defenses. Not saying he sucks but I'm not crowning him the next Alvin Kamara either. Besides, one good player and one unknown quantity doesnt exactly refute what I said. No one is denying that Pruitt has recruited some nice pieces. But he has yet to put together an entire class that can compete with the upper echelon of the SEC. We were outscored 177-30 this past season by our 3 biggest rivals. Keep saying we aren't that far away talent wise from the SEC elites.

Pruitt can’t stay out of his own way. The whole benching JG for a series thing is just plain dumb.
I don’t quite blame Gray disappearing on him. Look at what JP did at the QB position.
We obviously aren’t on the same level as our 3 biggest rivals yet, but the gap is closing.

 

[CR-vol]

And yet the holes in our team are glaring. We lack elite team speed. We lack size and depth on the D-Line. We lack an elite edge rusher. We lack a physical, dominant RB. And most importantly we lack a dynamic playmaking QB. I dont see any of those deficiencies in the #3 recruiting team in the SEC.

The one glaring thing you left out is those top 3 teams all win and we don't. We're not going to pull in the same talent they do until we start winning and sending a steady stream of players to the NFL. All the history, prestige and facilities in the world are not going to change that.

 

[dougvolfan]

we started 1-4 and were staring down the abyss. Finishing 8-5 (5-3 sec) and winning 7 of final eight is impressive regardless of quality of opponents. Great job pulling team together.

 

[BeecherVol]

we started 1-4 and were staring down the abyss. Finishing 8-5 (5-3 sec) and winning 7 of final eight is impressive regardless of quality of opponents. Great job pulling team together.

This.
Ga ST and BYU sucked. 1-4 sucked. Everybody knows it.

It could have eclipsed Jones 4-8 record breaker but the HC and staff didnt panic and didnt flinch. The players fed off that and kept marching forward. The payoff was a 7-1 finish.

Pruitt bought himself more time to recruit and develop. They still have a few holes, the most glaring is consistent QB play. Hes not elite or great based on that, but it's a positive step.

 

[JT3]

Jesus

JG has been pretty bad but are you seriously blaming Ga State and BYU on him? That wins the ridiculous take of the year.
I was almost bought in on this staff but had a nagging feeling they were gonna treat Indiana like they did Ga State..i dont think they did as we dominated the first half on both sides of the ball. However, they apparently made better adjustments at half time as they kicked our ass in the 3rd and most of the 4th quarters.

This staff is and always will be responsible for those first 2 losses and the reason we arent 10-3. Please dont blame JG..he has enough of a load to carry already.

I didn't say JG deserved 100% blame for those two losses nor was my intent to bash the kid but better QB play in both would have resulted in wins, it's no denying that. Pruitt gets all the blame for the Georgia St game by not having the kids ready to play, and by not giving our opponent the proper respect by treating the game as a glorified scrimmage. The BYU game fell on everyone on team and staff. Despite how bad we played and the opportunities we wasted we were up 16-13 with 17 seconds left. I'm not putting that game fully on Pruitt but he does definitely get his fair share.

Regardless JG played poor in both games with costly turnovers and late/high throws to wide open WRs. Those are facts. He played better the 2nd half of the season which is one of the main reasons we won 7 of 8 games.

GBO.

 

[Sudden Impact]

Well I mean you're comparing our coach to saban the greatest coach of college football. We have another idiot comparing our quarterback to Joe burrow a heisman trophy winner this season. Don't think it's me that has the expectations of we're gonna be a championship team with our current set up think I need to check yourself and realize that you are in fact an idiot

You have a READING PROBLEM not comparing them in regards to success or potential. Just called you out because you are baffling about this and that in regards to shifting players, onside kicks etc and the scared to lose statement. What's more, you need to grow up and quit putting words into others mouths. It's just gibberish. Must have signed into your dad's account. LOL

The "Scared to lose" comment was just stupid and dumb. This season can be contributed to one thing hot and cold QB play, the players stepping into their roles as players and getting the right chemistry on the field to function as a team.
Nothing more nothing less and nothing else.

I thought you weren't serious about it and just stirring the pot but then you continued to open up your mouth again and again with these posts.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

The one glaring thing you left out is those top 3 teams all win and we don't. We're not going to pull in the same talent they do until we start winning and sending a steady stream of players to the NFL. All the history, prestige and facilities in the world are not going to change that.

He said theres not much difference between the #3 and #7 SEC recruiting teams. I was simply pointing out there in fact is.

What was our record when Butch and his staff pulled in the #5 and #7 recruiting classes in the country? I dont completely buy that its ALL because of our previous records. But even if it is, that's why I said that if we finish this coming season with 9 wins (counting the bowl game), it should be glaringly obvious to recruits that we are trending upwards and that our program is headed in the right direction. That would be two straight winning seasons and bowl appearances. The whole "we dont win" excuse is out the door and it comes down to our staff's approach to selling blue chip players on our program. I don't think it's any secret or surprise that some of our coaches aren't exactly known as relentless recruiters. Tennessee should be a very easy place to sell to recruits.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Every position but QB. GA ST qb 2 passing td 1 running

BYU QB 232 yards 1 td 0 ints (true sophmore 1 less yr experience)
Jg 176 yards 2 td 1 int

But out QB is the greatest ever

Anyone who says JG is the greatest ever is silly. Pretty sure no one has ever said that, i certainly haven't. However, coaching cost us those 2 games.

 

[CR-vol]

He said theres not much difference between the #3 and #7 SEC recruiting teams. I was simply pointing out there in fact is.

What was our record when Butch and his staff pulled in the #5 and #7 recruiting classes in the country? I dont completely buy that its ALL because of our previous records. But even if it is, that's why I said that if we finish this coming season with 9 wins (counting the bowl game), it should be glaringly obvious to recruits that we are trending upwards and that our program is headed in the right direction. That would be two straight winning seasons and bowl appearances. The whole "we dont win" excuse is out the door and it comes down to our staff's approach to selling blue chip players on our program. I don't think it's any secret or surprise that some of our coaches aren't exactly known as relentless recruiters. Tennessee should be a very easy place to sell to recruits.

Butch's #5 and #7 classes should never be mentioned here as legit well recruited classes. Pruitt has a 25 signee limit that Butch didnt have and Pruitt is actually recruiting for needs which Butch didn't do.

We're not going to recruit a LEGIT top 3 SEC class until we start winning. How many guys did we send to the NFL in the 2018 and 2017 drafts? Until those two things trend back up top talent is going elsewhere.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Butch's #5 and #7 classes should never be mentioned here as legit well recruited classes. Pruitt has a 25 signee limit that Butch didnt have and Pruitt is actually recruiting for needs which Butch didn't do.

We're not going to recruit a LEGIT top 3 SEC class until we start winning. How many guys did we send to the NFL in the 2018 and 2017 drafts? Until those two things trend back up top talent is going elsewhere.

You're kidding right?

Derek Barnett
Cam Sutton
Jalen Hurd
Jalen Reeves Maybin
Shy Tuttle
Alvin Kamara
Juan Jennings
Josh Dobbs
John Kelly
Von Pearson
Marquez North
Trey Smith
Corey Vereen
Josh Palmer
etc...

Look Butch was an idiot but let's not revise history. Those 2015/2016 teams had a LOT of talent that was mismanaged! We absolutely should have won the East those two seasons!

Also, I didnt say we had to recruit top 3. I said to realistically compete we need to recruit minimum top 10 nationally, top 5 in the SEC. For a program like Tennessee that is not unreasonable!