KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — On Thursday, Tennessee football players began reporting to campus for the start of fall camp, so naturally reporters flocked to campus to hear from head coach Jeremy Pruitt and the rest of the coaching staff. The first day of practice is set for Friday, so here's what we learned from Pruitt prior to the start of actual, real life football.
Deangleo Gibbs, Aubrey Solomon and Trey Smith
-Here's what we learned today - Deangelo Gibbs will redshirt this season. The Georgia transfer will not hit the field with his new SEC team this season. Pruitt said the team wants to focus helping him find the right position in the next nine months. While he played as a defensive back with UGA, he spent time on the offensive side of the ball this spring.
-Michigan defensive line transfer Aubrey Solomon is still in NCAA Transfer limbo. "It could be tomorrow, it could be two weeks from now, but whenever it happens, it'll happen," said Pruitt on Thursday. Really glad to see the NCAA is moving at a fast pace on this one, I mean it has only been *checks watch* seven months.
-Trey Smith's health is still up in the air. "Trey is expressed that he wants to play football, our doctors have kind of collaborated with everybody across the country, a lot of specialists to figure out a plan to enable him, to give him an opportunity to be able to do that," said Pruitt. Remember, Smith is dealing with blood clots in his lungs, something that sidelined him indefinitely in October of 2018. Smith is one of the best players on the team, his return to full contact would be huge, but with something like blood clots, it goes well beyond football.
"I truly believe that we do have the best staff in the country"
-With the addition of talented and experienced coaches like Jim Chaney, Derrick Ansley and Tee Martin, you may have heard the argument made around the college football world. Jeremy Pruitt put it to words himself today. Inside linebackers and special team coordinator Kevin Sherrer offered a unique perspective on the group of coaches. "A lot of us have coached high school which means we were school teachers, so we teach the game of football now and I think we have some of the best teachers of the game in this building."
The offensive line has a new look
-It's no secret, the offensive line struggled last year. You don't have to look any farther than the first play of the first game against West Virginia to see that. Jeremy Pruitt says the team isn't focused on the past though. He said the group has a new look about them. "When they walk into a room, whether they're a guy that's been here for a year, two years, three years, you can see how their bodies have changed in a positive way. We've got guys that have experience, that have played in a lot of games. We have guys that again are new on campus and they're looking for the opportunity to play, but we have competition in the room," said Pruitt.
The team is relatively healthy
-Beside the eligibility questions with Solomon and Trey Smith's status, the team is relatively healthy. Pruitt said there is always a little bit of grey area because football is such a physical sport, but the only player that may be cautious with in the spring is senior defensive back Baylen Buchanan.
Jarrett Guarantano poised for a good season
-Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano received high praise from Pruitt on Thursday. From a physical perspective, Guarantano has transformed his body through the help of the strength and conditioning program as well as the nutrition program. "He's done a really good job this offseason from a leadership standpoint," said Pruitt. "I've never been around a good player at any position that didn't have some kind of toughness and I think we all know Jarrett is a tough guy, so I think he's poised to have a really good year."
Strength and Conditioning staff have gone above and beyond
-It's a common trope we hear every year all around the country, how much work teams have done in the weight room, how they're different. This year, Jeremy Pruitt could not stop singing the praises of strength coach Craig Fitzgerald and the staff. From mentioning players changing their bodies, to developing toughness, that was the major theme of Pruitt's press conference before fall camp. "Craig realizes he's trying to develop football players and him along with his staff who he hand picked have done a really nice job, not just in strength and conditioning, but to me with the mindset of our team. You kind of create the identity of your team in the offseason through the strength and conditioning program, nobody in our program spends more time with our players than our strength staff does." Developing size, developing toughness is a huge step in the right direction for this football team.