February 25, 2018 · 10:51 AM

“I will go to dadgum China for him if he’s a player.”

New coach’s plan to rebuild flailing program is to work as hard at recruiting as every other coach.

44 Comments

Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange, Recruiting

44 responses to ““I will go to dadgum China for him if he’s a player.””

  1. Dolly Llama
    February 25, 2018 at 11:31 AM

    Can we all agree that regardless of how you may have felt about him, Jeremy Pruitt is our most fascinating former coach in recent memory?

    Liked by 2 people

  2. eethomaswfnc
    February 25, 2018 at 11:40 AM

    I read the headline and immediately thought of Fish Fry.

    Like

  3. merk
    February 25, 2018 at 12:04 PM

    Did I catch a Butch quote in there, “you win with players and it is not always the highest rated ones.” Yeap, those 5 star hearts will win it all for him.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Hobnail_Boot
    February 25, 2018 at 12:36 PM

    Is Dadgum a suburb of Beijing?

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Bright Idea
    February 25, 2018 at 12:48 PM

    High school coaches like Pruitt cause he’s a lot like them, raw, unpolished and blunt. He’ll get his share of good players because of that and he might lose a few because of that too.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ricky McDurden
      February 25, 2018 at 2:52 PM

      Problem for Jeremy is, unlike Kirby and Bobo, he doesn’t seem to be able to switch between good ol boy yucking it up with the HS coaches and D1 football coach managing a multi-milion dollar program at a large university. Maybe there’s more going on between the ears than we have seen thus far but forgive me if I am reluctant to give Jermey the benefit of the doubt.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Mike Cooley
        February 25, 2018 at 3:24 PM

        This is so silly. I hope Pruitt does a craptastic job as Tennessee’s coach but what in the world is this nonsense about his intelligence being questionable because he doesn’t have statesman like speech and probably doesnt eat at Chinese resteraunts? So ironic that Tek accuses our fanbase of being a bunch of rednecks because the hipster snob count seems to be pretty high.

        Like

        • Dolly Llama
          February 25, 2018 at 4:32 PM

          Dude, the thing above was about Johnson (aka Fish Fry.) that’s what I was responding to. The implication being that he’s a slothful recruiter.

          Like

        • Bright Idea
          February 25, 2018 at 4:32 PM

          Not his intelligence, but his total lack of tact. He’s a good coach but he was a huge part of the rancor on the inside at UGA in 2015. For whatever reason he gained a lot of authority in the football program, some of which should have been reserved for the head coach. He took most of that power.

          Liked by 1 person

  6. Spike
    February 25, 2018 at 12:53 PM

    They are just not that much into you..UT..

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Gurkha Dawg
    February 25, 2018 at 1:59 PM

    I know it’s not popular to say here, but I think UT might be something to worry about in 2 or 3 years. I wish Pruitt had gone elsewhere.

    Like

    • Ricky McDurden
      February 25, 2018 at 2:55 PM

      Could Pruitt recruit his way into being a thorn in our side? He certainly has the recruiting acumen to pull it off. However, I think it’s just as likely that he flames out when he is unable to manage the program with Phil leaning over his shoulder the whole time.

      Like

    • eethomaswfnc
      February 25, 2018 at 4:10 PM

      Why? Is he a good recruiter? Yes. Does he look like a guy who is going to be able to do everything to run a program? Not to me.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Mayor
        February 25, 2018 at 8:24 PM

        I actually agree with those on this blog who think that things will degenerate into a catfight between Fulmer and Pruitt the first time things start to go south on the field. But has it ever occurred to you guys what would happen if Pruitt and Phat Phil manage to get along and divvy up responsibilities between themselves appropriately? Suppose Pruitt is in charge of recruiting and Xs and Os on D, leaves the O to the OC and Phat-ass becomes head of the program, the mouthpiece and the money-getter–and they don’t step on each others’ toes? Phil’s not stupid and neither is Pruitt. Could not only work but might work pretty damn well. That would be in Phat-Phil’s best interest and Pruitt’s best interest. UT was once a national power, second only to Bama in the SEC. If I am a top recruit and I look at going to Bama or Georgia and sitting behind 3-4 other guys who are just as good as I am for 3 years or going to UT and starting immediately I know what decision I would make (probably Georgia if I’m from Georgia)–but I’m a 60 year old man with a lot of life experience. I certainly could see an 18 year old kid with visions of going to the NFL ASAP heading to Knoxvegas under those circumstances. If that happens enough and Pruitt can coach ’em up, the Vols might be pretty good pretty quick.

        Like

        • Dolly Llama
          February 25, 2018 at 8:48 PM

          So you think both of those guys are smart and disciplined enough to hatch some arrangement like that and keep it going over the course of years?

          Like

        • DoubleDawg1318
          February 25, 2018 at 8:51 PM

          I agree. We can laugh at UT, but it just might work. I laughed at Carolina hiring Muschamp and he’s turned into a competent if unexceptional hire so far.

          Like

          • Dolly Llama
            February 25, 2018 at 9:02 PM

            I’ll take “competent if unexceptional” as opponents throughout the conference, though if that’s what the SEC has come to, the conference needs to take a collective step back and consider the medium- and long-term ramifications of that.

            Like

        • artful codger
          February 25, 2018 at 9:52 PM

          I don’t think either one signed on or will be willing to settle for co-anything.

          Like

          • Mayor
            February 26, 2018 at 10:16 PM

            Agreed. Pruitt signed to be HC. Fatboy signed to be AD. If they parcel out their respective roles and responsibilities and agree not to step on each other’s toes…….

            Like

  8. Bill Glennon
    February 25, 2018 at 2:55 PM

    The most interesting quote is his wife telling him “Being nice will get you fired”.

    Pruitt seems to me like the type of guy who wears that on his sleeve.

    There’s a difference between being a tough-minded, no-nonsense leader and and being a gratuitous dick. I think Pruitt will learn the difference the hard way.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Uglydawg
    February 25, 2018 at 3:17 PM

    “The fallout from the mother of all dysfunctional head coach searches”.
    Man…talk about scoffing down some popcorn…what a SHOW!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Argondawg
    February 25, 2018 at 3:28 PM

    Pruitt is going to have to pull off some miracles. He has two play both Bama and The Dawgs every year and will be at a serious talent deficit. Take a look at their roster. They haven’t recruited above top 15 in the last few years. I just wonder how much patience UT fans have at this point. The honeymoon could be over pretty quick. Their schedule next year is brutal. Good times!

    Like

    • doofusdawg
      February 25, 2018 at 6:29 PM

      He sure knows the score when he mentioned having to out recruit Georgia and Alabama consistently. I am guessing that he could be on par with Kirby in terms of details and work ethic. But he knows all other things being equal… it’s the jimmies and the joes. And I don’t think he has to worry about wooing the faithful… remember this is UT we are talking about.

      Like

  11. steve
    February 25, 2018 at 5:30 PM

    The reporter who wrote this, Chris Low, graduated from UT, lives in Knoxville and has a serious need to have access to UT FB information. Those facts should be displayed at the beginning of any report he prints about UTK. I heard he lost am ear in Pruitt’s colon when he pulled his head out of Jeremy’s ass.
    UTK is the Chernobyl of college FB and will be radioactive for a while despite what the paid fiction media writers print. ‘Perception is reality’, notwithstanding.
    The University of Tenn has wallpapered over huge holes in the wall and hopes no one tries to hang shelves at those locations.
    Neither Pruitt nor Phil are in the navigator’s chair. The hired consultants are mapping out the route of the big orange ice cream truck and Phat Phil is driving using their pre-programmed GPS. The most advertised item for sale is an orange pop sickle that has JP’s picture on the wrapper and costs $2.49 retail and 12 cents wholesale….When the dry ice runs out the pop sickles melt.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. steve
    February 25, 2018 at 5:33 PM

    One more thing. Ask Chris Lowe to report on how much $ UTK paid Greg Schiano to keep his mouth shut.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Mayor
      February 25, 2018 at 8:25 PM

      I would LOVE to know that!!!

      Like

    • Macallanlover
      February 26, 2018 at 11:11 AM

      Didn’t know that had been settled. He had TN by the short hairs, deserved to nail them for a sizable pile of cash. What a cluster.

      Like

      • Mayor
        February 26, 2018 at 10:22 PM

        I don’t know if they settled either. I like Schiano’s case too but there are a bunch of technical legal defenses at UT’s disposal not the least of which is sovereign immunity. It might be wise for Schiano to settle if someone were willing to throw significant dough in his direction. If it happens we may never find out because there will likely be a seriously tight non-disclosure agreement.

        Like

  13. rchris
    February 25, 2018 at 7:52 PM

    Pruitt will recruit harder than Butch, and will get somewhat better results. His problem is that his natural geographic recruiting base is more sparse than his three biggest rivals, and his program’s prestige is much less than theirs over the last 10 years, which is the maximum time horizon of the typical recruit. Why travel farther to get to Knoxville to play when Georgia, Alabama, or Florida have had better postseasons, and have a combined 26-4 record against the Vols over that time? Jeremy has until Oct. 20th to change that narrative, otherwise his path gets even more uphill.

    Like

  14. Al
    February 26, 2018 at 8:05 AM

    Do they serve asparagus there?

    Liked by 1 person

  15. 69Dawg
    February 26, 2018 at 10:16 AM

    Let’s look back at CJP and his ability to turn chicken shit into chicken salad while the DC at UGA. The man can coach some defense. His career objectives will rise and fall upon which Saban assistant come HC he turns out to emulate. If he goes the Muschamp route: can’t find a good OC, fires them after 1 year etc. Then he will fail. If he goes the Kirby route and hires a good OC and keeps him long enough to settle the O down then they will be competitive. I know we are so used to being Dawggraded we like to do it to others but college football runs in cycles and some are shorter than others. The days of the East being weak are numbered.

    Like

    • Mayor
      February 26, 2018 at 10:39 PM

      Absolutely right 69, particularly that last sentence. Georgia is already at parity with Bama IMHO. All the SEC East teams will be better next season than they were last season and some West teams are going to be worse. South Carolina will become Georgia’s chief competitor in the East. I think both FU and UT will win more games next year than they did in 2017. Mizzou will be better although it may not translate into more wins. UK and Vandy are the only 2 that probably won’t improve but I’m not sure about UK–the ‘Cats may surprise everybody and contend for the East next season.

      Like