By Jimmy Hyams
During SEC Football Media Days earlier this week, Tennessee first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt was blasted by two former Georgia Bulldogs.
Aaron Murray questioned whether Pruitt has the personality to be a CEO and criticized Pruitt for treating poorly the Dawgs head coach, Mark Richt.
David Pollack said he heard some of the “disrespectful’’ things Pruitt did to Richt and wondered if Pruitt could handle authority.
Neither cited examples of Pruitt’s alleged disrespect.
Randy Sanders, a former Tennessee player and assistant and how head coach at East Tennessee State, worked for one year with Pruitt at Florida State under Jimbo Fisher. The Seminoles won the national championship that season, 2013.
During an interview Friday on WNML radio, Sanders was asked about his relationship with Pruitt.
“Jeremy is obviously a good football coach,’’ Sanders said. “I thought he was a really good person, a good man. He was a great team man.
“His focus was, No. 1, how does the team win, and No. 2, how does the defense do their part. That’s all you can ask. That’s all I ever tried to do as an offensive coordinator: No. 1, how does the team win and, two, how does the offense do our part in fulfilling the role to help us win.
“I always thought Jeremy did that.’’
Sanders couldn’t speak to the direct criticism of Pruitt’s two-year stint as defensive coodinator at Georgia (2014-15).
“I certainly don’t know what happened at Georgia,’’ Sanders said. “I wasn’t there.
“It’s always interesting, whenever you’re around a place that doesn’t have the success that may be expected, it’s amazing how blame gets passed around. He was kind of the new guy there. Maybe he got a little bit more of it than he deserved. I don’t know.
“My relationship with Jeremy has always been very good. I have a lot of respect for him, No. 1 as a football coach, and No. 2, as a man.’’
You can hear the entire interview with Sanders on Sports Talk today at 4:05 pm.
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