Four Downs with Jeremy Pruitt

Tennessee’s open date last week came at an opportune time for the Vols. On the field, Jeremy Pruitt’s team has been hot over the last month, winning three straight for the first time since 2016 and four out of five overall going back to October. The Vols limped through the Kentucky game with an assortment of different injuries and were in real need of two weeks off to get healthy.

Right tackle Darnell Wright (ankle), who missed the Kentucky game, was the most prominent starter battling health issues, but any number of Vols were dealing with various nicks and bruises after the grind of six games in six weeks, including five SEC contests.

“We’re probably as healthy as we’ve been in a long time,” Pruitt offered.

“Our guys are excited to get back into game week. They should be fresh, I know I definitely am, had a good weekend.”

One player who should have definitely benefitted from the open date is quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. He’s been playing with a screw in his left, non-throwing hand, and a large protective wrap on the appendage. It’s not affected his throwing but has been a hindrance with handoffs or simply clapping to signal for the snap.

“He has been able to do everything except maybe clap his hand to take the snap,” Pruitt said. “We probably cut down the reps to eliminate the contact there so it would reduce the swelling, so we would have a better opportunity on Saturday.”

One of the biggest ironies of the season is that just as Tennessee started to turn things around, the Vols were dealing with a quarterback controversy that hasn’t really abated as the season has started to take on an upward trajectory.

That runs counter to just about what anyone with an opinion on football would have said was likely to happen. But here we are. Tennessee is playing the best football in Pruitt’s two seasons in Knoxville despite a carousel at the quarterback spot.

Will that carousel continue at Missouri on Saturday, or did Guarantano earn his job back by pulling the Vols’ feet out of the fire with his rock solid second half at Kentucky?

Pruitt was typically giving nothing away on Monday afternoon.

“We will see these guys out here today and the way we practice, they all get the same amount of reps. We will see as the week goes, we will narrow it down a little bit and probably focus on two guys.”

Nigel Warrior is one of the best stories on the Tennessee football team. The senior has 58 tackles, 6 PBU’s and leads the team with 4 interceptions and is currently ranked as the top safety in the SEC according to Pro Football Focus

Over the last six games, the senior safety has 44 of his 58 tackles, 3 INT’s, a tackle for loss and 4 PBU’s.

Clearly he’s playing his best football after a slow start that saw him record just 14 tackles in the first four games.

“Nigel has continued to work hard everyday,” Pruitt said. “He’s been a really good leader for us. He’s improved tremendously from last year to this year. He continues to get better. He’s playing his best football right now.

“He’s turning into a complete player whether it’s playing the ball, playing man to man or tackling in space. He has improved and continues to improve in those areas. Like everyone else he wants to play his best this week.”

Since Missouri joined the SEC, the Tigers are 5-2 against the the Vols — with Tennessee’s two wins coming in 2015-2016. In fact, the Vols have been outscored in the series 256-188. Missouri’s average margin of victory is nearly 3 touchdowns. The last two games, the Tigers hav won 50-17.

Missouri despite a four game losing streak is favored in Saturday’s game.

“When you look at Missouri, it’s a team that’s 5-1 at home. They lost this past weekend. The game was really close against Florida. A couple of things didn’t go their way down the stretch. It’s a team that’s really kind of dominated this series in the past. It’s an opportunity for our team to go on the road and play a good football team that’s really well coached.”

Pruitt is still looking for more from his team. A team he likes a lot but believes one that hasn’t peaked yet.

“I have said this a bunch of times,” Pruitt said. “We have yet to play our best game. We have yet to play a complete game in my opinion. We have lots of things as a staff and as a team to prove. It’s a great opportunity to prove it.”