With only two weeks to work, Jeremy Pruitt came into the Tennessee job, assembled an enviable war-chest of decorated, recruit-first assistant coaches, and salvaged a crumbling recruiting class in 2018. Never one to mince words, Pruitt expressed confusion upon arriving about “where the big guys are?“ With his track record as a gifted recruiter, coupled with his staff, there was widespread intrigue about what they could do with their first full recruiting cycle at Tennessee.
The answer turned out obvious: they recruited like a staff full of veteran coaches. The cycle was smart, strategic and relentless. Tennessee filled areas of concern, trusted evaluations over star-rating, successfully pursued several high-profile guys and ultimately finished up ranked 11th nationally by adding a pair of high-profile, former 5-star transfers. The results were so positive that Brian Niedermeyer, Tennessee’s young, star recruiter, was named National Recruiter of the Year by both 247 Sports and ESPN.
Pruitt didn’t just excel at recruiting players this off-season. He simultaneously recruited Jim Chaney away from Georgia. Pruitt recruited Derrick Ansley, a solid coach and elite recruiter, away from the Raiders and over Alabama, to coach DB’s and help coordinate defense. And Pruitt brought Tee Martin home. As the team starts to wind-down winter workouts and heads toward spring practice in March, the energy around the program is BIG positive.
To be completely honest, considering the Vols’ limping 5-7 finish in 2018, the level of excitement around Tennessee Football, who were somehow picked 15th in ESPN’s spring FPI, is nothing short of a minor miracle.
Let’s grade how this recruiting class will affect each position.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK: B
Tennessee shed two QB’s after 2018, leaving a somewhat prominent amount of empty seats in the room. Yes, coaches do seem dedicated to Jarrett Guarantano, and for good reason, considering his numbers in spite of having virtually no protection in 2018. Still, Tennessee is one bad hit or one damaging wrap in the weight room away from a SERIOUS situation, considering that the next man in line is redshirt freshman JT Shrout, a California kid with a strong arm and ZERO college snaps. Tennessee attempted to remedy this in the 2019 class by bringing in record-breaking Floridian Brian Mauer. With a strong, accurate arm, natural athleticism and fearless on-field demeanor, Mauer could come in and push Shrout immediately for the back-up QB job. With emergent 4-star stud passer Harrison Bailey already committed to the Vols for 2020, Pruitt seems to have a long-play angle with this position.
RUNNING BACK: B
Jeremy Pruitt did inherit a pair of gifted runners, in Ty Chandler and in microbruiser Tim Jordan. However, the style of offense Pruitt wants to run calls for bigger, meaner backs. He temporarily solved that problem in 2018 with Jeremy Banks, but fumbling issues and needs elsewhere resulted in Banks spending time with the linebackers. Though Banks could conceivably end up with the runners again, now that things at linebacker are taking a shape, there was still a need to add talent in this class. Check. Eric Gray was the first-ever 3x Mr Football in Tennessee, and for good reason. This guy is a perfect blend of speed, agility and field vision, and should immediately push for playing time behind Ty Chandler. Unfortunately, Tennessee really needed to add another bigger body to run between the tackles. They signed a large 5-star running back in Quavo Crouch, but he seems to be locked on playing linebacker at Tennessee.
TIGHT END: B+
Much like at running back, Jeremy Pruitt wants at least a few monsters in the tight end room. He added a star in the 2018 class, in Dominic Wood Anderson, but his desire for giants remains. Enter Sean Brown and Jackson “J-Lo” Lowe, a pair of ready-for-action TE’s, both entering college at around 6-5, 250. We expect these guys to push all current reserve TE’s aside and directly support DWA immediately. Lowe was an early enrollee, so he’ll have an advantage in pecking order, but Sean Brown is a bad man. This room took a big step forward.
WIDE RECEIVER: A-
This might be the only room that didn’t need a lot of additions in this class. Tennessee’s receiving corps returns the entire production engine from 2018, and will be an experienced, (potentially elite) group. Still, the Vols added two exciting new pieces to the puzzle, as well as a transfer in Deangelo Gibbs. Ramel Keyton, a fast and confident All-American, is the signature addition. Jerrod Means is more of a sleeper, whom Pruitt evaluated and brought in while almost no other major program gave him a look. We saw a similar recruit in Cedric Tillman in 2018, and he will push for playing time this year. Pruitt is gifted at evaluation, and Means has the physical specs to develop into an SEC receiver in short order. Gibbs only enhances the picture, with elite natural ability and SEC experience, coming from UGA, where he was a defensive back.
OFFENSIVE LINE: A++
Tennessee struggled in prominent ways along the offensive line in 2018, and the performance likely was key to Tennessee not playing in the postseason. So the all-business Pruitt went out and put together one of the best OL hauls in America. The staff recruited an entirely new line that features a pair of day-1 starters in Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright. The class is rounded out by guys that fit Pruitt’s mold. At an average of 6-4.5 and 320, the 2019 boost to this room will be felt immediately and could last for years.
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE BACK: B+
After watching this coaching staff transform a pair of wide receivers into one of the most fearsome cornerback duos in the conference it’s not surprising that Tennessee reloaded with a pair of four-star talents, along with some projects. Jaylen “Tank” McCullough is the centerpiece of this class of DB’s, and projects as a Safety, presumably to fill in behind Nigel Warrior (and develop into a starter for after Warrior graduates this year). Tyus Fields, who projects as a corner, is recovering from a foot injury, but could develop into a blistering cornerback under Pruitt’s guidance.
LINEBACKER: A+
Just like it did with the offensive line, Tennessee brought in the kind of linebackers that can completely change the landscape. Quavaris Crouch and Henry To’oto’o would’ve been welcomed at any major program. Crouch picked the Vols over Clemson and Michigan, To’oto’o did the same over Alabama and Washington. Add them to a field with 2018 trophy JJ Peterson, Daniel Bituli, Will Ignont and a finally healthy Darrin Kirkland Jr., and this room is looking deep, smart and very mean. The craziest thing is that the three players with the least experience might push everyone else for playing time immediately.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A
Like it did at so many other positions, Tennessee clearly had a plan here. Pruitt and company successfully added a blend of big time/immediate-impact recruits, some quality depth and an elite transfer in Aubrey Solomon. Tennessee graduated the entire starting defensive front in 2018, but replaces them with some really compelling guys. Savion Williams, based on his film and general demeanor, seems like a star defense of tackle waiting to happen. While Tennessee will not have a wealth of experience on the interior line, they do make up for it with some serious talent and size. The exterior of the d-line is a better mix of talent and experience and newcomers like the freakishly strong Roman Harrison will be structured around defensive leader Darrel Taylor.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
Assuming trajectory stays as it is, Jeremy Pruitt is clearly on a crash course for top five classes at Tennessee, perhaps as early as next year, so while many portions of this class were easily an A+, you can see that this isn’t the best they can do. Adding guys like Tee Martin and Derrick Ansley to the Tennessee recruiting machine only accelerates this process and it’ll be very exciting to see how quickly/well this big class develops.
COACHING
Coaching: A
As gifted as Pruitt seems to be at recruiting players, his ability to calmly and effectively recruit coaches is on a similar level. When Tennessee lost OC Tyson Helton to a head-coaching gig at Western Kentucky, another somewhat-tense coaching hunt began. Tense for fans, that is. While conspiracy theories populated Twitter feeds, airplanes were tracked and candidate sightings cropped up all over the place, Pruitt and his team focused on the early signing day. When that day came and went, fans were wringing their hands feverishly, watching assistant coaches land new jobs around the college football landscape.
One of the most dividing possibilities was the return of disgraced former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze. Internet fights over his scandal versus his offensive success raged for days until he hilariously took a head-coaching job at Liberty University. Tennessee had a largely successful early signing day in spite of having no offensive coordinator in place. Finally, with bowl season over, rumors swirled that former Vols OC/HC Jim Chaney might be willing to leave a successful Georgia offense behind in favor of returning to Knoxville. And that’s exactly what he did.
But Pruitt wasn’t done just yet.
A potential hire that had popped up in conversations seemingly every year resurfaced yet again, but this time it came along with a tidal wave of positivity behind it. Former Vols QB Tee Martin was coming home! Martin will assume positions coaching wide receivers, as a pass-game coordinator and as an assistant head coach. The national- championship winner is a former top recruiter, USC OC and one of the most recognized figures in program history. Somehow, this hire seemed even bigger for improving the culture around the program than stealing Chaney from UGA.
But Pruitt still wasn’t done.
In spite of regularly having national interest from both professional and college programs, Oakland defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley chose Pruitt and Tennessee. Ansley is another elite recruiter, a college football veteran both on the recruiting trail and as a player. In an unexpected shift, 2018 Defensive Coordinator Kevin Sherrer will slide to linebackers and special teams, and Ansley will become Tennessee’s DB coach and DC. In an unusual display of confidence, Pruitt publicly stated that Ansley would be the one calling the defensive plays in 2019. (Pruitt refused to relinquish control of his defensive vision to anyone else last year.)
As far as combined recruiting plus on-field impact, the hiring of Ansley is easily the biggest deal for Tennessee’s coaching upgrades. Since this regime landed in Knoxville, all eyes have been on the 2020 season, seeing it as enough time for Pruitt’s masterplan to be in effect at UT. Plugging in this kind of upgrade to the coaching staff with a year to tune things up is absolutely critical. As always, Pruitt seems to know what he’s doing here.
