During Pruitt’s interview, he shared a hilarious story of a recruiting mishap while at Alabama.
On Thursday, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt joined Nick Saban, Gus Malzahn, Kirby Smart and many others to speak at the L’Arche Mobile Football Preview which was held online this year.
During Pruitt’s interview, he shared a hilarious story of a recruiting mishap while at Alabama.
Saban sent Pruitt down to Mobile, Alabama ahead of then-offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and then-offensive line coach Joe Pendry. At the time, the Crimson Tide was really interested in several players in and around that area, all which eventuslly signed with the Tide: AJ McCarron, Nico Johnson, Trent Richardson, and D.J. Fluker.
“Coach Saban told me, ‘Listen Jeremy, we’re in a good spot with these guys. I want you to go down there, recruit them for this week. At the end of the week, I’m going to send coach Pendry and coach McElwain for a home visit with a couple of these guys. I just want you to report to me every night what’s going on.
“I’m feeling like I’m doing a great job. I’m calling coach Saban every night. He’s asking me all these questions about AJ McCarron. He goes, ‘There’s a lot of talk about Tennessee coming down and if Lane Kiffin ( Tennessee head coach at the time) is visiting AJ McCarron. Is there any truth to that?
I said, ‘No, coach. I sat outside his house every night. I watched who was coming in.
So, on Thursday, coach McElwain and coach Pendry fly into Mobile and I pick them up. We’re going straight to AJ’s house. We pull up and I have the right address. The make of the vehicles were all the same. I knock on the door, knocked several times and this little old lady came to the door. Kind of shocks me there. I’m thinking this must be AJ’s grandmother.
I said, ‘Is AJ here?’ She said, ‘Who?’ I said, ‘AJ McCarron.’ She said, ‘No, baby. He lives four houses down that way.’
So, right then, I had a lot of anxiety thinking I’ve been watching the wrong house for a week.
Coach McElwain looked at me and said, ‘Great job, Pruitt.’”
Clearly, Pruitt’s mistake didn’t cost the Tide because McCarron went on to play for Alabama and lead the Tide to two back to back national titles in 2011 and 2012.
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