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A.J. Artis will be taking over Strength and Conditioning for Tennessee Football

By Colton Pickard

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Eric Gray #3, Brian Maurer #18, and Bryce Thompson #20 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate with fans after defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 20-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Eric Gray #3, Brian Maurer #18, and Bryce Thompson #20 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate with fans after defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 20-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Football and Jeremy Pruitt name its new Strength and Conditioning Coach, and A.J. Artis is the new man for the job for the Vols.

Craig Fitzgerald departed from Tennessee football as the Vols’ Strength and Conditioning Coach earlier this year, leaving Jeremy Pruitt to find a new man for the job. Pruitt did just that by hiring from within.

A.J. Artis has been named the new Vols’ strength and conditioning coach, which is an exciting decision for Pruitt and the Vols. Artis has worked under Coach Fitz for the previous two seasons, so there’s no one better to take over Fitz’s position than Artis.

"“I would like thank Coach Pruitt and Coach Fulmer for the opportunity to lead a great group of young men,” Artis said in Tennessee’s press release. “I will give my all to our student-athletes and the Tennessee football program. I am excited for this opportunity and look forward to helping Vol football continue its resurgence.”"

Coach Artis is excited for his new role, and Duke head coach David Cutcliffe is just as excited for him to take over the new position. Artis spent two seasons at Duke before joining the Tennessee staff.

"“First and foremost, congratulations to A.J,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe added in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited for A.J. and this opportunity – I know he’ll be a terrific representative of the University of Tennessee and its football program.“From our initial encounter at Duke, I was impressed with his personal drive to be successful and doing things the right way. A.J. is an excellent communicator, is very knowledgeable about college football as it pertains to strength and conditioning, and has a very strong passion for helping young men achieve success.”"

I’m excited to see what Coach Artis can do with the roster and see if he can continue to build on what Coach Fitz was doing prior to him leaving.

One issue from the previous administration was the lack of training in the weight room. It caused a ton of injuries, and the team simply wasn’t big enough to legitimately compete with top teams in the SEC and throughout the country consistently.

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With Pruitt as the head coach, he’s not going to allow that to happen under his watch, so Coach Artis has high expectations coming into his first season in his new role.

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