Everything Jeremy Pruitt said on the SEC Teleconference

Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt made his weekly appearance on the SEC Teleconference Wednesday morning to preview this Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.

Pruitt discussed the development of J.T. Shrout and Harrison Bailey, Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller, facing a hurry-up offense, managing a roster knowing seniors can return for a second senior season and if Brandon Kennedy would return for another season.

Here’s everything Pruitt said:

Opening Statement:

“Our guys are finishing up our finals this week. Had a couple good days of practice. There’s really a lot of unknowns about Vanderbilt moving forward. They didn’t play last week. Obviously Coach (Derek) Mason is not with the program anymore. But we know that they’ll be ready to play. They always play hard, they’re very well coached. It will be a challenge for our football team.”

On former Alabama coach Ray Perkins passing away:

“Obviously growing up in the state, I knew of Coach Perkins. When I became an assistant coach there, I recruited south Mississippi for several years and ran across him there. And saw him when he came on campus a few times. But I heard that this morning, I hate to hear that. He’s been a great ambassador to our game and to our league. So very sorry for that.”

On the biggest challenge defensively facing a hurry-up offense:

“I think it’s not about what you know as a coach, it’s about what your players know. I do think when teams play fast, when you talk about processing — whether it’s getting your defensive substitution in, getting the play call in, looking at formations — every offense has tendencies, just like every defense does. But when they play fast and there’s not a lot of time in between snaps, it eliminates probably the amount of time to gather information as a defensive player.”

On if facing a hurry-up offense dictates personnel at the beginning of a possession:

“When a team is playing fast, you have to know when to substitute and when not. Lots of times, there’s some teams that try to play fast all the time. Obviously it’s hard to play fast during a dead ball. There are teams that mix up their tempo. Maybe they go fast after a live ball or an explosive play. Or maybe they go fast from second down to third down, trying to keep people from substituting and changing personnel. Or maybe they go fast after a converted third down. So there’s lots of different ways that you can mix up the tempo. I think from a defensive standpoint, you have to be really keen on when to substitute and when not.”

On getting Harrison Bailey and J.T. Shrout into a rhythm: 

“I thought Harrison (Bailey) and J.T. (Shrout) both showed poise. They had command. Didn’t make many mistakes. So that was really good to see. They’ve both had two really good days of practice this week. You can see gaining confidence for both of them, so that’s good to see.”

On where J.T. Shrout has improved most during his career:

“J.T. is an extremely hard worker. He’s very conscientious. He’s a really good teammate. He tries to soak up as much knowledge as he can. He’s really kind of persevered. He’s had some opportunities and done well at times. Maybe had a bad break here or there, but he’s come back. He’s just kind of stayed the course. He continues to be real steady. He’s improving every single day.”

On Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller:

“Obviously me and my wife had a daughter last January. So being a father of a daughter, if you look at Sarah Fuller’s background, she’s a winner, a competitor. Just won the SEC Championship. So it’s inspiring for all women.”

On managing a roster with seniors being able to return for a second senior season:

“There are some players that are seniors, that have directly already came to me and said that they want to come back, and just wanted to make sure it’s ok. There have been some that have come to me and said you know what, when the season is over with I’d like to sit down and talk about my future, whatever you think. How can we gather the information to make a right decision for what I need to do? And then some have not addressed it. Listen, it’s unusual times, right? I think allowing all the student-athletes to gain another year of eligibility, I think that was the right idea. Obviously it’s going to impact the scholarship numbers moving forward. To what extent, I think there’s got to be rules that have to be put in place. We all as coaches probably have a better understanding to manage our rosters in the future.”

On how rosters can be managed better:

“I do think when you have people graduate from your program, I think it’s a reward for them and gives them an opportunity to either stay with your program and get another degree. Brandon Kennedy graduated from Alabama, I happened to be there for most of his career. He done an outstanding job there. I felt like he might have a better opportunity to play at another institution. He’s come here, he’s earned two degrees here now. I think it’s worked out good for him in both scenarios.

“But probably, if you have guys, we had 15 young men that graduated on Saturday, there’s probably a couple of them that may look to grad-transfer. And I think they’ve earned that right. It’s an awesome deal for them. We want to help them wherever they want to go. Whether it’s to get closer to home or for whatever reason. But I do think there should probably be a possibility of, once somebody graduates, is maybe getting another scholarship or an initial in that place, for what the student-athlete has done.”