PRUITT's way

[JoAllan]

Still not enough evidence for that determination. He may be lost, but he has basically decided that if a player or players don't want to put in the work, they can leave. He wants a certain kind of player with a certain mindset. He doesn't play music and dance around at practice, just expects the players to put in the work if they expect to play. He will lead, if they do not follow he will show them the door and work with ones that want to do it the right way. He has brought in walk ons that have better measurables than some of the players from the previous regime.

That sounds good, I think he stays regardless so I hope it works.

My problems are: I see more regression than progression.

I don’t think it takes many recruits to beat Georgia State

I’ve seen QB regression compounded with coaching indecision

Many times it seems the team has not seen any film on the opposing team (don’t get me wrong, I know they have)

Secondary seem lost at times, D line can’t pressure, they line up wrong, I’ve seen way too many undisciplined penalties and plays......to me this reflects on the head coach......maybe not entirely his fault, but it reflects badly on him.

Simply not near enough improvement, combined with some regression......to me just says he isn’t a real leader.

 

[VolForLife83]

So instead of “wait till next year”, our motto is now “wait till year after next year”?

I wish he could turn it around, but I see no evidence of it happening on his watch, period.

Your not going to until we get his players. This team is like oil mixed with water right now

 

[Doberman]

The village idiots and '98 entitled crowd want instant millennial minded success without the process of actually rebuilding. This job takes a complete demolition. Nuke it all and bring in fresh dirt for a foundation.

Which rebuilding job?

This one?
Or the last one?
Or the one before that?
Or the one before that?

 

[westy]

The village idiots and '98 entitled crowd want instant millennial minded success without the process of actually rebuilding. This job takes a complete demolition. Nuke it all and bring in fresh dirt for a foundation.

Pruitt has done a great job on the “complete demolition” and the “nuke it all” parts. Still waiting for the foundation to be laid.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

The village idiots and '98 entitled crowd want instant millennial minded success without the process of actually rebuilding. This job takes a complete demolition. Nuke it all and bring in fresh dirt for a foundation.

Well he is well on his way to nuking us to oblivion. But to be honest dynasties dont return from oblivion..

Why do so many fall so hard for a coach that they refuse to see any flaws in said coach?

 

[Alto1]

Your not going to until we get his players. This team is like oil mixed with water right now

IMO, that’s on Pruitt.
No reason a half decent leader would let that happen.
After the 2 terrible loses at the end of last season and the terrible lose to GaSt, I don’t buy that’s the major problem.
If it is, Pruitt has created it himself.

 

[zydane47]

IMO, that’s on Pruitt.
No reason a half decent leader would let that happen.
After the 2 terrible loses at the end of last season and the terrible lose to GaSt, I don’t buy that’s the major problem.
If it is, Pruitt has created it himself.

It’s amazing how the new coaches at K State and UL aren’t having these issue of two separate players, their first recruiting class and the previous coach’s players.

Wonder what their secrets are.

 

[Alto1]

It’s amazing how the new coaches at K State and UL aren’t having these issue of two separate players, their first recruiting class and the previous coach’s players.

Wonder what their secrets are.

Coaches been doing it since the inception of sports, but all the sudden it’s a major factor with Tennessee repeatedly.

Just a cop out, imo.........

 

[volfannbama]

Building a system is more important than winning.


Can't make this stuff up

 

[mercuryvol]

If Pruitt’s way continues on the track it’s currently on, Pruitt will be the head football coach of the worst team in the history of the University of Tennessee Volunteers!
He will have to own that...........

He already is.

 

[Roustabout]

I can't speak to absolute fact , this is strictly my personal observation. This is not an endorsement of CJP or an excuse , because again I can't verify this as fact only an educated guess based on observation. There seems to be a stubborn , dogmatic system building mentality without concern for results. He has modeled the program , the quality control , and the very talented staff on the Bama model . He models his recruiting a player selection on this model as well . He comes in and installs a 34 defense with a hodge podge of defenders that were not very good in a 43. He installs a pro style read and react multi level offense that is QB dependent when the only QB he has is a kid that got the last staff fired. Both the offense and the defense require very specific player types....of which we simply do not have. If you recall the Sal 34 we attempted to install during the Dooley years. This transition is even more disastrous when you are short on talent and depth across the front and youth at linebacker. You can't run this offense without an accomplished playcaller ...not necessarily an athletic QB , but a guy that recognizes fronts and protections.

With Pruitts experience and exposure to top shelf programs and the recruiting abilities he shown , he knows exactly what he has and does not have on his roster. His staff is a collection of talent and experience that would not miss the obvious personnel weaknesses. So why the refusal to play dumbed down systems that fit the talent level of the team ? I think his philosophy is recruiting and building the personnel to fit the system rather than fitting the system to the personnel. He is building an NFL organization that is manned by youth and third stringers. If this is the case and he pulls it off by getting the correct athletes in place , we will have a top tier system. If he stumbles in recruiting , then this will be an unmitigated disaster. I personally think you build a system framework and fit that to your existing squad . Maybe this team should be a 43 hybrid type with a basic run heavy play action O and then build to your desired system based on the recruiting class(s).I am not sure that CGP will be given enough rope to fill his system with appropriate players.

To sum this up , I think building the system is of greater importance than playing within the current rosters capabilities and by extension , the system is more important than winning in the mind of the staff ( CJP ) .

This is only my observation.

Pruitt sucks

 

[jackieaprilesr]

I can't speak to absolute fact , this is strictly my personal observation. This is not an endorsement of CJP or an excuse , because again I can't verify this as fact only an educated guess based on observation. There seems to be a stubborn , dogmatic system building mentality without concern for results. He has modeled the program , the quality control , and the very talented staff on the Bama model . He models his recruiting a player selection on this model as well . He comes in and installs a 34 defense with a hodge podge of defenders that were not very good in a 43. He installs a pro style read and react multi level offense that is QB dependent when the only QB he has is a kid that got the last staff fired. Both the offense and the defense require very specific player types....of which we simply do not have. If you recall the Sal 34 we attempted to install during the Dooley years. This transition is even more disastrous when you are short on talent and depth across the front and youth at linebacker. You can't run this offense without an accomplished playcaller ...not necessarily an athletic QB , but a guy that recognizes fronts and protections.

With Pruitts experience and exposure to top shelf programs and the recruiting abilities he shown , he knows exactly what he has and does not have on his roster. His staff is a collection of talent and experience that would not miss the obvious personnel weaknesses. So why the refusal to play dumbed down systems that fit the talent level of the team ? I think his philosophy is recruiting and building the personnel to fit the system rather than fitting the system to the personnel. He is building an NFL organization that is manned by youth and third stringers. If this is the case and he pulls it off by getting the correct athletes in place , we will have a top tier system. If he stumbles in recruiting , then this will be an unmitigated disaster. I personally think you build a system framework and fit that to your existing squad . Maybe this team should be a 43 hybrid type with a basic run heavy play action O and then build to your desired system based on the recruiting class(s).I am not sure that CGP will be given enough rope to fill his system with appropriate players.

To sum this up , I think building the system is of greater importance than playing within the current rosters capabilities and by extension , the system is more important than winning in the mind of the staff ( CJP ) .

Great head coaches know that you have to win on the field to get the players they desire. Great coaches adapt to their personnel until their personnel fits their system..........that is why Pruitt is failing and might not be employed long enough to get his players. He has to adapt for the short term to create an attractive environment for future players. Then and only then can he run his systems.

 

[james_govols]

The village idiots and '98 entitled crowd want instant millennial minded success without the process of actually rebuilding. This job takes a complete demolition. Nuke it all and bring in fresh dirt for a foundation.

Considering most of us have been waiting for 10 years, I doubt we are wanting instant success.

Second, lay off the news. You sound like a sheep.

 

[DaddyChad]

Currently we are 11th in the SEC in recruiting rankings..and we have even played the tough part of our schedule yet but have a 1-3 recod to show for it. Think recruits are going to flock here?

Meh, at one point we were in front for several highly rated kids like Baron, Hardy, etc. No idea where their heads are now. We can surely sell immediate playing time. Pruitt’s job depends on landing kids like those two, Omari Thomas, and Bailey at QB. We can be underrated as far as overall rank but we have to address a few positions or we’re screwed. Those instate Dline, Bailey at QB, and Lawrence at S are immediate impact kids.

 

[Herman Hickman]

The village idiots and '98 entitled crowd want instant millennial minded success without the process of actually rebuilding. This job takes a complete demolition. Nuke it all and bring in fresh dirt for a foundation.

The folks who were most optimistic in predicting success in 2019 are some of the same folks defending this coach now.

The folks who understood this to be a bad hire were much more cautious in their predictions.

Not only has he managed to live down to the predictions of his critics, he has also incompetently stumbled beneath them.

No one on this forum predicted a 1-11 or 2-10 season. Yet here we are with a poorly-disciplined, poorly-prepared, and poorly-coached football team.

You want this program nuked. We are well on our way this year with Battle Jr. running things.

 

[majic73]

Still not enough evidence for that determination. He may be lost, but he has basically decided that if a player or players don't want to put in the work, they can leave. He wants a certain kind of player with a certain mindset. He doesn't play music and dance around at practice, just expects the players to put in the work if they expect to play. He will lead, if they do not follow he will show them the door and work with ones that want to do it the right way. He has brought in walk ons that have better measurables than some of the players from the previous regime.

Pride85 , I think this is also a point that I was thinking but did not mention in my original post. There is some 'my way or the highway' in this guy. I believe that it is going to take a couple of recruiting cycles to see how his system pans out. I would want to see him scheme to his teams talent level ...but he didn't ask advise from me. I bet he has guys like Fulmer and Saban.

 

[ptcarter]

Well he is well on his way to nuking us to oblivion. But to be honest dynasties dont return from oblivion..

Why do so many fall so hard for a coach that they refuse to see any flaws in said coach?

Every coach has flaws. Every flaw is amplified by forums like this. Lots of Auburn fans are still not crazy about Malzahn. He’s been a couple of games away from the hot seat for years, and as good as they are playing, they will drop one and the long knives will come out.

For Pruitt- Bama and UGA will be ugly. We all know that. I would say, his best chance for survival at this stage is to do way more than expected against the rest of the schedule. There is still time to salvage that, but it looks grim. Beat USCe, Vandy, MSU , and Kentucky or Missouri, I think his stock will rise. Tall order. That plus a stellar recruiting class.

If he can’t do that VolNation will continue to meltdown.

 

[majic73]

I see some of the OP points.

The part about saying defense scheme does not match players. Not sure I totally agree. They played a pretty good game against BYU. They had some good moments against UF also given the fact our offense offered them no help..

They did play well against BYU , but were overly reliant on the blitz. In a 34 you play a single gap or double gap. Since we don't have a dominant nose , we are playing two gap which means you have to have at least 2dominant, intrusive guys and a guy that is good off the edge and at least consistent inside. It does not good to have one or two kinda good guys, because they will not require double teams or chips. This means that the blitz can be picked up or the LBs will not be free . This means instead of 2.5 seconds in the pocket , the QB will have 4 , 5, and 6 seconds. That is where we are from a player point of view. Outside of a couple of kinda good downed linemen ...there is no depth. Just about any college level QB is gonna complete passes with 4 seconds and unless you have Deion Sanders , Ty Law caliber coverage the coverage is going to unravel after 4 seconds.

We should not be running a 34 without dominant down guys. For 3 guys to tie up 5 , they have to be very big and very special. Our guys are special in other ways

 

[Billy Ratliff]

I can't speak to absolute fact , this is strictly my personal observation. This is not an endorsement of CJP or an excuse , because again I can't verify this as fact only an educated guess based on observation. There seems to be a stubborn , dogmatic system building mentality without concern for results. He has modeled the program , the quality control , and the very talented staff on the Bama model . He models his recruiting a player selection on this model as well . He comes in and installs a 34 defense with a hodge podge of defenders that were not very good in a 43. He installs a pro style read and react multi level offense that is QB dependent when the only QB he has is a kid that got the last staff fired. Both the offense and the defense require very specific player types....of which we simply do not have. If you recall the Sal 34 we attempted to install during the Dooley years. This transition is even more disastrous when you are short on talent and depth across the front and youth at linebacker. You can't run this offense without an accomplished playcaller ...not necessarily an athletic QB , but a guy that recognizes fronts and protections.

With Pruitts experience and exposure to top shelf programs and the recruiting abilities he shown , he knows exactly what he has and does not have on his roster. His staff is a collection of talent and experience that would not miss the obvious personnel weaknesses. So why the refusal to play dumbed down systems that fit the talent level of the team ? I think his philosophy is recruiting and building the personnel to fit the system rather than fitting the system to the personnel. He is building an NFL organization that is manned by youth and third stringers. If this is the case and he pulls it off by getting the correct athletes in place , we will have a top tier system. If he stumbles in recruiting , then this will be an unmitigated disaster. I personally think you build a system framework and fit that to your existing squad . Maybe this team should be a 43 hybrid type with a basic run heavy play action O and then build to your desired system based on the recruiting class(s).I am not sure that CGP will be given enough rope to fill his system with appropriate players.

To sum this up , I think building the system is of greater importance than playing within the current rosters capabilities and by extension , the system is more important than winning in the mind of the staff ( CJP ) .

Would not be surprised. JP is an old school type coach and so is his boss. Pretty plausible that this is exactly what JP sold to Phil in his interviews and that it would appeal to Phil coz that's what he knows. Hope it works out.

 

[Volinfla13]

At this point all of these threads are...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...we just have to wait longer. So, let's do something different than football for a while. Woodworking. Build a fence. Go hiking. Kiss your kids goodnight and read them a book. Badminton.

I never ever ever go to bed without telling my kids goodnight ind I love them and sleep good. The same holds true for my wife I always tell her goodnight and I love her. I also refuse to go to bed upset with any of them....perspective

 

[Mtnvol80]

I have to assume he’s trying to install next years system today. If any of the big recruits he’s got (specifically Harrison Bailey) stick around this offensive system will fit and the support personnel will have learned.

Way to many people are putting HB on a pedestal. He might be good but let's wait till he faces some D1 athletes.

 

[beneVOLence]

Problem is you have to win to recruit the way we need to to get there.

 

[VolforFootball]

We're going to do things Pruitt's way.... Drunk and on your front lawn.

 

[MikeVol44]

I can't speak to absolute fact , this is strictly my personal observation....

To sum this up , I think building the system is of greater importance than playing within the current rosters capabilities and by extension , the system is more important than winning in the mind of the staff ( CJP ) .

CJP has repeatedly said that he absolutely hates losing--and will make every effort to achieve his goal of winning games on the field.
CJP has also repeatedly said that this program will only get better through recruiting "mo...betta...play-uhs".

It's painfully obvious that the Juniors and Seniors on this team--except for a limited few--are athletically inferior to the recruits he has brought in--especially in the positions of OL, LB, and DBs.

I think it's admirable that CJP continues to publicly encourage JG--and CJP has refused to throw him under the bus when it's obvious to everyone (CJP, too) that we are not getting production from the QB position.

You took the long and seemingly sophisticated way around the barn to tell us that you know what goes on in the minds of this coaching staff......SMH.

 

[Sooner for Life]

I can't speak to absolute fact , this is strictly my personal observation. This is not an endorsement of CJP or an excuse , because again I can't verify this as fact only an educated guess based on observation. There seems to be a stubborn , dogmatic system building mentality without concern for results. He has modeled the program , the quality control , and the very talented staff on the Bama model . He models his recruiting a player selection on this model as well . He comes in and installs a 34 defense with a hodge podge of defenders that were not very good in a 43. He installs a pro style read and react multi level offense that is QB dependent when the only QB he has is a kid that got the last staff fired. Both the offense and the defense require very specific player types....of which we simply do not have. If you recall the Sal 34 we attempted to install during the Dooley years. This transition is even more disastrous when you are short on talent and depth across the front and youth at linebacker. You can't run this offense without an accomplished playcaller ...not necessarily an athletic QB , but a guy that recognizes fronts and protections.

With Pruitts experience and exposure to top shelf programs and the recruiting abilities he shown , he knows exactly what he has and does not have on his roster. His staff is a collection of talent and experience that would not miss the obvious personnel weaknesses. So why the refusal to play dumbed down systems that fit the talent level of the team ? I think his philosophy is recruiting and building the personnel to fit the system rather than fitting the system to the personnel. He is building an NFL organization that is manned by youth and third stringers. If this is the case and he pulls it off by getting the correct athletes in place , we will have a top tier system. If he stumbles in recruiting , then this will be an unmitigated disaster. I personally think you build a system framework and fit that to your existing squad . Maybe this team should be a 43 hybrid type with a basic run heavy play action O and then build to your desired system based on the recruiting class(s).I am not sure that CGP will be given enough rope to fill his system with appropriate players.

To sum this up , I think building the system is of greater importance than playing within the current rosters capabilities and by extension , the system is more important than winning in the mind of the staff ( CJP ) .

Great points. I certainly agree with your overall rationale, but in today’s world where winning now is the standard, I’m not sure building the “system” is feasible. This is the million dollar question: Does Pruitt take the time to methodically recruit to his offensive and defensive game philosophies, or does he devise a scheme around the current personnel on his roster and gradually improve the program? I’m not so sure the UT program has the patience to grant Pruitt the necessary time to recruit the certain type of athletes for his scheme. In my opinion, Tennessee needs to win now, not 3 years from now. If Pruitt’s recruiting efforts to his system aren’t successful, it could set the program back even further.

I know at Oklahoma, Mike Stoops set OU back light years by recruiting smaller, faster, more “versatile” DLs and LBs. His philosophy was that it would make it easier to defend Big 12 offenses. It literally was a disaster and is why we haven’t had a good defense in several seasons. On the flip side, Lincoln Riley effectively devises schemes around the talent he has on the roster. For example, OU will be more run-heavy than in the last several years with Hurts and the RBs. After three coaching changes, it finally took an energetic coach (Stoops) and an impact player at a few positions until everyone bought in and the wins started happening. From there, it snowballed.

I think that the immediate need for UT is an impact QB to ignite this offense (shocker). I don’t care if he is a runner or passer—as long as he can do it flawlessly and with confidence. Most importantly, he must be able to lead this team. From my perspective, there are no leaders that stand out right now on either side of the ball. Pruitt needs to find the talent now wherever he can—high school, JUCO, portal—wherever, and implement the scheme around the talent to give UT an immediate return. Success on the field will generate solid recruiting. I really believe UT has a lot of the pieces in place on the roster now, but lack a few key players to get it done this season (need some quality OLs). I was thinking the Houston QB (King) would be perfect for UT if Pruitt could snag him. I could see OU losing its backup QB (Mordecai) to transfer as well. Just my thoughts.