KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt said he has seen an increase in confidence and maturity in the Vols this week following Wednesday’s practice held indoors at the Anderson Training Center due to weather conditions.
“Lots of competition out there today,” Pruitt said. “I saw guys competing all the way to the end of practice… you could see a little more sense of urgency. I think a little bit of that is maturity. I think some of it is confidence, so that’s a good thing. We’ve got to continue to work the next two days to get ready for a really good football team in Georgia.”
Tennessee quickly put last week’s loss to Florida in the rearview with players coming in voluntarily to watch film on Sunday and prepare for the second-ranked Bulldogs.
Georgia will be the first road opponent for the Vols this season as the two teams square off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. Tennessee is 23-22-2 all-time against Georgia and 11-11-1 all-time in Athens, Ga. UT’s last trip to Sanford Stadium ended with wide receiver Jauan Jenningscatching a 43-yard Hail Mary from Josh Dobbs to win the game as time expired.
“When you go on the road in the SEC, you find out a lot about yourself,” Pruitt said. “To me, one of the best things about being a player or coach in this league, is you find out really who you are when you go on the road. Everybody is against you. It’s a tough environment. You have to overcome a whole lot, but you find guys who have maturity, who can focus and do the little things that it takes to have success.”
Pruitt and his staff are very familiar with the Bulldogs. Pruitt was the defensive coordinator at Georgia in 2014 and 2015, and recruited and coached many of the Bulldogs’ top players. Several other members of the Tennessee staff have coached at Georgia, and vice versa. Pruitt and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart also worked on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff together for six years.
Additionally, 15 scholarship players on the Tennessee roster call Georgia home, including projected starters: wide receiver Marquez Callaway, safety Micah Abernathy, defensive tackle Alexis Johnson, safety Nigel Warrior and cornerback Baylen Buchanan.
“I would think that Georgia is a hard place to play,” Pruitt said. “To start with, like all the schools in the SEC, they have a lot of passion for their team. They have a very good football team that’s very well coached. In my time there, the players, the relationships that I got to build and be a part of, (I) had a lot of fun memories there.”
Vols’ D Finding Success on Third Down
Tennessee is allowing opponents to convert just 24.5 percent (12-of-49) of third down attempts through four games – the nation’s sixth-best mark and the third-best rate in the SEC. The Vols have been especially stout on third down since the season opener against West Virginia, too. UT has held opponents to a 17.5 percent conversion rate (7-of-40) on third down over the last three games.
Georgia has emerged as one of the SEC’s top offenses this season behind sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm and a stable of playmakers, including wide receiver Mecole Hardman (five touchdowns) and running back D’Andre Swift (190 yards, two touchdowns).
The Vols’ defense will need to continue to make stops on third down to have success against a Bulldogs’ team converting third downs at a 43 percent clip, while scoring 44.5 points and totaling 477.5 yards of total offense per game.
Tennessee Coaches Wearing AFCA’s Coach to Cure MD Patch
Jeremy Pruitt and the Tennessee coaching staff will be wearing special arm patches in honor of the AFCA’s Coach to Cure MD program this Saturday against Georgia. This is the 11th year coaches around the country join together to raise funding and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Fans are encouraged to donate by texting “CURE” to 5055 or visiting www.CoachtoCureMD.org
-UT Athletics
