VolsSportsFan
Release the Epstein files
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I think this sheds some light on why many Tennessee fans are frustrated with Pruitt. Many of us (including myself) want to see younger guys play more because we want to accelerate this rebuild. Rob has expressed on VQ's podcast that he thinks the younger guys should play more and asked Pruitt about it after the game. While I agree that they should be playing more, I thought Pruitt's answer made a lot of sense...
Rob: "Jeremy, as a coach is there ever a time where you may have a freshman or a sophomore who you know is more talented than the upperclassman who is playing, but he's not quite as ready, and you throw him out there to speed up his development, or is it all about the practice thing?"
Pruitt: "Well I don't believe in that. You have a purpose when you practice. I don't think that's the right way to build a program because the players know who's earned the right opportunity to play on Saturdays. They know that. There's no secrets in this game. They can see it. We watch film every day. They know who plays hard. They know who makes mistakes. And if you start (playing guys) just because he's bigger or stronger or faster or whatever and he's not done the right stuff through the week then I think you're sending the wrong message to the people within your program..."
The question was asked at around 14:27 if interested
So all the QBs do not practice as well or hard as JG? How does one evaluate that considering JG gets majority of reps in practice?This statement aligns 100% with what I talked about a few weeks ago with respect to managing the locker room. Pruitt is trying to manage the locker room in all ways including QB. As CJP says there is no hiding in this game. I agree again 100%. There is something to the idea the effort you put in should be rewarded. The counter point is when everyone sees the production is not there even with the effort. This is JG to a tee. The locker room and fans for that matter see it. You have to weight the ability to produce in conjunction with the work ethic. If you don't play you will not get better. Saying you have to practice perfectly (effort) is a problem. You address people short comings one at a time. Anyway I am rambling now. Too much faulty thinking in only considering practice.
Pruitt’s answer is why we will always suck under his reign. If I recall correctly Josh Dobb’s and Tyler Bray weren’t exactly known for their great practices but they played well when the lights came on. So apparently, Josh Dobbs would sit behind JG.
JG supposedly practices well but my eyes tell me he sucks in games. Pruitt is an idiot. I’m not really interested in most anything he says until JG is gone or riding the pine. Next coach please.
If he’s so leery about benching JG due to seniority, then why was Brian Maurer the starting QB by early October last year?
More times than not the best practice players are your best players. Gamers like Dobbs are pretty rare occurrences. I can also understand wanting to play the players that practice best, if you don't it can send a very bad message that practice doesn't matter.
With all that being said, sometime you gotta try something different, the whole definition of insanity after all
I’ve seen a lot of great practice players that look like different players on the field, that is common in collegiate and high school sports. That’s when coaches have to recognize a need for change