Tennessee Football: What it’s like to play under Jeremy Pruitt

We all have a pretty good idea of Jeremy Pruitt’s coaching style, but Sophomore Alontae Taylor detailed his experiences last season.

Jeremy Pruitt brought a lot to the table when he was hired that the more traditional Vol fans have been looking for but didn’t get under Butch Jones.

If I had to guess how it would be going from Jones to Pruitt, it’s like going from your 8th-grade football coach to the high school varsity head coach the next year.

In my experiences, that’s a big jump, and that seems like that’s where I am at on that, and I feel like that is pretty accurate.

Most middle school coaches don’t work out their players, and if they do, they are very basic workouts. Once you get to high school, there are still basic workouts, but it’s a lot more reps and weight, and that’s pretty much how the weight program transitioned with Pruitt.

Alontae Taylor shared his thoughts in his first season at Tennessee with Coach Pruitt as his head coach, and it sounds like the jump from high school to college was pretty drastic.

"“My high school coach wasn’t as hard and as strict as Coach Pruitt was,” Taylor said ahead of Tennessee’s practice. “Coming in it was kind of difficult, but with him being my first college coach, I just adapted to whatever he wanted.”"

I sure would hope that an SEC football coach is harder and more strict than a high school coach no matter the level. You won’t be a successful coach at a high level if you’re not tough or strict.

I know some coaches have strayed away from that some and have made it work, but if you ever watch “Hard Knocks” you’ll see those coaches get in their player’s facemasks and that’s why they are some of the best players and coaches in the world.

Pruitt has brought the best out of his players so far, and he’s bringing in his guys. He’s a tough coach, but sometimes that’s what players need to get them going.

If I didn’t fear my high school coach, I might have been picking dandelions every other day during practice instead of doing drills or running routes.

I hope we can get more inside looks into Pruitt’s coaching style from a player’s perspective. I would like to see what they think about how he coaches and all the juicy details about practice and all that.

Based off what I have seen from players on social media or through the football program’s YouTube or social media, it looks like Pruitt has a real connection with the players.

It’s nice to see that not only because that will help them be more successful, but you can tell he’s also changing their lives for the better and that’s what it’s all about.