KNOXVILLE – Spring practices are over and final exams do not begin until next week, but this week could still turn out to be significant for some Tennessee football players who were the subject of Jeremy Pruitt’s wrath on Saturday.
The coaching staff is expected to conduct exit interviews with each player this week, and if Pruitt’s harsh words after this past weekend’s spring game are any indication, those interviews could lead some to consider transferring, unless they want to sit on the bench in 2018.
“Confront them,” Pruitt said of his plan for the players who believes “flat out quit” as the Orange beat the White 34-7 in front of an announced crowd of 65,098.
“Confront them,” he reiterated. “You know, there’s nothing any better than peer pressure. It’s easy to stand out there with your chest stuck out and pretend you’re somebody that you’re not.”
With 12 players sidelined during the spring game with injuries expected to return and 14 players from the 2018 signing class and at least three graduate transfers joining the program this summer, the competition for playing time is set to increase this offseason, and Pruitt has indicated on numerous occasions that the Volunteers are not done shopping for players on the graduate transfer market.