Tennessee Football: Jeremy Pruitt is losing his recruiting class

Tennessee Football and Jeremy Pruitt had an elite run earlier this year on the recruiting trail, but Pruitt is losing his recruits by the day.

Tennessee football is on one of its worst runs in program history. The Vols currently sit with a 2-7 record, and Jeremy Pruitt is losing commitments by the day. This is not a recipe for success, but it can be another reason for Tennessee fans to push for firing Pruitt this offseason.

If Pruitt doesn’t keep his recruiting class and everything falls apart on the recruiting trail, then there’s no reason to keep him after a 3-7 season at best, with the possibility of going 2-8.

Over the last two weeks, recruits have dropped like flies. From five stars to three stars, recruits that have been with the Vols for the past nine months have gone from all-in to de-committed. That’s a troubling sign as the program is still looking for its identity in Pruitt’s third year as head coach.

If Phillip Fulmer keeps Pruitt for another year, then Pruitt will still be looking to figure out what kind of football team Tennessee will be in his fourth year. That’s not a great sign for long-term success.

Although Pruitt has shown promising signs on the recruiting trail, he hasn’t proven to be the elite recruiter and closer we think he can be. It seems like he won’t show he can be an elite recruiter and closer this year either as the Vols have lost yet another commitment.

Yesterday, Hudson Wolfe announced he was de-committing early in the morning, and defensive back Jay Jones followed later yesterday afternoon with the same news. Jones made the announcement on Twitter but didn’t offer the same sentiment that Wolfe did.

In Jones’ announcement, he seemed excited to be de-committing from Tennessee and based on recent play from the Vols; I don’t necessarily blame him.

https://twitter.com/jayjone38930434/status/1337124606503768064

Jones has been with the Vols for well over a year. He committed to the Vols in July 2019, but the long-term commitment has come to an end. The three-star defensive back from Alabama is the No. 79 cornerback in the country and the No. 36 player in the state of Alabama.

The list is growing of players that have removed themselves from Tennesse’s recruiting class. Jones joins five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis, four-star cornerback Damarius McGhee, four-star tight end Hudson Wolfe and three-star defensive end Darrell Jackson as players who have de-committed from the Vols in recent weeks.

Early Signing Period opens next week on December 16, so seeing these players de-commit so close to Early Signing Period is nerve-wracking. It doesn’t instill much confidence within the fan base, and if I had to guess, the program as well.

Tennessee’s recruiting class is starting to run thin after five players have now de-committed from the Vols. Hopefully, Pruitt can get back on the right track if he plans on keeping his job for the remainder of his new contract.