No. 7: 2018
Head Coach: Jeremy Pruitt
Record: 5-7 (2-6, SEC)
Best win(s): at No. 21 Auburn, vs. No. 12 Kentucky
Key offensive players: Jauan Jennings, Trey Smith, Jarrett Guarantano
Key defensive players: Shy Tuttle, Alontae Taylor, Kyle Phillips
Another era was beginning for Tennessee football. Somehow, the program was in worse shape than it had been at the end of Dooley’s tenure when Jeremy Pruitt took over for Butch Jones. Pruitt made wholesale changes to the program, including facilities, nutrition, coaching staff, and more.
With an extremely thin roster, particularly in the trenches, Tennessee brought in graduate transfer quarterback Keller Chryst from Stanford to compete with Jarrett Guarantano. After a fall camp without much separation between the two, Guarantano was given the starting nod for a season-opening 40-14 loss to West Virginia in Charlotte. Tennessee (2-3) went into a matchup on the road against a ranked Auburn team following two straight blowout losses to Florida and Georgia.
Trailing 17-13 at halftime, UT would score 17 unanswered points out of the break and run away with a surprise 30-24 victory on the Plains. Guarantano was 21 of 32 with 328 yards and two touchdowns, a career-best. Pruitt had his signature win.
The celebration was short-lived, as the Vols turned around with a home loss to Alabama and came up short at South Carolina, 27-24. Late in the season, No. 12 Kentucky came to Knoxville with its best team in modern college football history. Tennessee dominated from start to finish and was victorious, 24-7, over the Wildcats. At 5-5, only one more win was needed to get into the postseason with games against Missouri and Vanderbilt remaining.
Tennessee ran out of gas, and lost both games by large margins, ending the season with another last-place finish in the SEC East. Despite a disappointing finish, Pruitt was able to put together an experienced and accomplished coaching staff that helped the Vols snatch away two ranked wins. The foundation was laid, and it was time for Pruitt’s reputation as an elite recruiter to pay off and fix the roster he inherited.
No Tennessee players were selected in the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, but defensive linemen Shy Tuttle and Kyle Phillips were signed as undrafted free agents by the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets, respectively.