Tennessee went from a 5-7 regular season in 2018 to a 7-5 regular season last year, when the Volunteers notched an eighth triumph with a 23-22 Gator Bowl topping of Indiana.
Should the Vols produce another two-game improvement during Jeremy Pruitt’s third season in Knoxville, Phil Steele wouldn’t be surprised. The 350-page Phil Steele 2020 College Football Preview was released this past week, and the author of college football’s most thorough preseason publication is brimming with optimism when it comes to Tennessee’s prospects this fall.
“I think that this is a team that’s close to 9-3,” Steele said. “Jeremy Pruitt didn’t take over an overly talented team. In his first spring, he had eight scholarship offensive linemen. This year he’s got 16. When he took over, he had about five scholarship defensive linemen, and this year he says the defensive line is a strength and goes about 10 deep.
“In each area, you see depth, and you see much more talent from when he first stepped in.”
Steele is hopeful of a season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences having already announced their intentions for league-only schedules in all fall semester sports.