KNOXVILLE — Jeremy Pruitt is 30 games into his tenure as Tennessee’s head coach.
The third-year Tennessee head coach has compiled a 15-15 record as he continues a process of building UT back to a championship program.
Tennessee has reached the midway point of the 2020 regular season in a 10-game SEC-only schedule.
Rush Propst, Pruitt’s former boss at Hoover High School, discussed the state and direction of Tennessee’s program 30 games into his former defensive coordinator’s tenure at UT.
“Jeremy finished up strong in recruiting last year, and I think they finish strong this year in recruiting,” Propst said on the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days.” “I think the COVID year is going to be one where we all sort of flush on down when it’s over with. I still think, and I still believe, that there are brighter things ahead for Tennessee going forward, especially in 2021 and 2022. That’s when you really are going to find out, with the recruiting, in year four and year five, of where the Tennessee Vol program becomes.
“I think, and I know, people are going to say, Rush, you are just a homer because Jeremy is your guy, but people are going to have to understand that he is recruiting very well and he is starting to recruit even better. I agree with him 100 percent that Tennessee looks better on the hoof then they have, probably as good since he has been there.”
In order for Tennessee to take its next step and compete for divisional championships, quarterback play is key going forward.
“It all still boils down to quarterback play,” Propst said. “The guy pulling that trigger makes the world go around.”
Propst is in his first season as head coach at Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia.
After California determined it would not hold competition in high school football this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, Propst searched the quarterback market and brought in USC commit Jake Garcia into his program.
Bringing in Garcia was a perfect fit as he is committed to USC and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, a similar scheme to Propst’s Air Raid power spread.
Garcia appeared in one game for Valdosta, throwing for 339 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener.
On Oct. 7, the GHSA declared Garcia ineligible to compete after arriving at Valdosta, as students transferring into the state must be part of a bona fide family move to play immediately.
On Oct. 26, the GHSA declared Garcia eligible to play in the state as he transferred to Grayson High School.
Propst mentioned that “it’s tough sledding when you have that type of athlete, that type of player, in your holster and you can’t use him.”
Garcia not playing for Valdosta has placed Propst in a position in which it is difficult to compete for a championship without “a guy pulling that trigger.”
“I look at it in our situation, I felt like we would be 6-0 with a Jake Garcia, where now we are 4-2 unofficially, 3-3 officially, without a quarterback,” Propst said. “It boils down to that. Quarterback play is a key to any level. If you do not get good quarterback play, regardless of what kind of players you have, you are going to struggle.
“With Jake, too, he fit what we were doing because what he was going to do at USC. He knew some things coming in that we didn’t have to teach him. He already had been exposed to it. It was set perfectly for us going forward if things would have worked out, but it didn’t. I still don’t quite understand the ruling, I still don’t understand how he could end up at Grayson High School right now and play, but it is what it is. We are moving on and the playoffs are right around the corner.”
Propst’s inability to have consistent quarterback play week in and week out this season after Garcia’s departure parallels of what Pruitt has experienced through 30 games at Tennessee.
“I think that’s the same thing any school in the SEC, when you have good quarterback play, relative to everything else, as long as you are average or above average in every other category, the team that has the best quarterback – teams that have the best quarterback play are usually the best teams,” Propst said.
The entire show with Propst can be listened to here or below.