Tennessee football returned to a game-week schedule and as is typical, head coach Jeremy Pruitt had his usual Monday press conference as the Vols continue to get ready for Arkansas this Saturday.
“For us,” Pruitt said. “This open week was a great opportunity to go back to the basics. Just going back through the early days of install trying to catch some guys up and it was a good opportunity to do that and move some guys around to possibly create some opportunities for guys who have worked hard in practice and really give them an opportunity.”
Bye weeks are usually a great time for younger players to get another look in the middle of the season and Pruitt talked about who stood out over the past few practices.
“Dee Beckwith was a guy that didn’t participate any during the summer,” Pruitt said. “He did absolutely nothing. When fall camp gets here, he’s back in quarantine again and then he turns his ankle. He’s a guy that we looked at a little bit at tight end but and we are starting to look at, at running back that has size and speed. Tee Hodge is another guy that was injured during fall camp that is starting to get his legs back under him a little bit; seeing a little more burst and speed out of him. There’s lots of guys, I could go through the whole roster. We need more depth at running back; we’ve really played three guys for the year and have been very fortunate that those guys have stayed healthy. We need to get those guys more of an opportunity.”
The Vols have the opportunity to try people at different places during the open week as a result a few players have moved position for the rest of the year.
“We’ve moved some pieces.” Pruitt said. “Bryson Eason is at outside linebacker. We took (Kurott) Garland and moved him to inside linebacker to create a little more depth at that position. Morven Joseph has worked at inside and outside linebacker. Normally, these things happen if you have them during the summer. During June and July, you can see these guys move around a little bit and get a clearer picture of what position they should play. Then, you get probably 14 really hard days of camp to see it. Some of these guys didn’t get to do it, so after going through the first five weeks of practice here, it’s an opportunity for us to put them into positions so that we can see them for their future.”
The Razorbacks have had a rough couple of years, but head coach Sam Pittman has shocked many with his team’s strong start to the year.
“Looking at Arkansas,” Pruitt said. “I have been really impressed with how they’ve come together as a team. Looking at them defensively I’ll start with Barry Odem – I think has done a fantastic job, they’ve created a lot of different looks in the secondary, they have created a lot of turnovers. I believe they lead the country in interceptions, they have been very opportunistic there with tons of eight-drop, rushing three guys and getting out and getting into coverage, mixing it up there. Offensively, they’ve played with a lot of speed on offense, snapping the ball a lot of times. As the season’s gone, probably been more efficient offensively creating some explosive plays. When you look at them with special teams, you obviously see guys with ability as kickers and they have return guys there that have bounced around and had a couple of guys, but it looks like they’re settling in on who they have as return guys.”
Pruitt also talked specificly about the job that Pittman has done in his first season.
“I never worked with Sam (Pittman).” Pruitt said. “We just kind of missed each other. I’ve known him for a while. I have a ton of respect for him as an offensive line coach. He’s a really, really good person. While he’s been at Arkansas, we’ve talked on the phone a couple of times and really enjoyed it. He has a good relationship with Jim (Chaney) and familiarity with each other. There’s a lot of people within Knoxville that have talked about him. He’s a very likeable guy. I think he’s done a really, really good job. You can see it. His team is playing hard and playing together. I think he’s doing a great job.”
