KNOXVILLE – The front cover of Tennessee’s 2018 football media guide features a generic, indistinguishable player, while the back cover is a schedule.
It’s a combination that seems to say, “We don’t know who we are, but this is what we’re up against.”
Tennessee’s new athletic director, new head coach and same old challenging slate of games are the zoom-out narratives entering the season.
Don’t sleep on the players.
The most impressive statistics to surface during the coaching transition from Butch Jones to Jeremy Pruitt have not been the results from inside a renovated weightroom or the top-secret passing statistics of Jarrett Guarantano and Keller Chryst from practices mostly closed to media.
No, the most impressive statistic about the 2018 Volunteers is how many of them have been on the practice field during preseason camp.
Even after Pruitt expressed extreme displeasure with his team following April’s spring game, no notable players transferred. One tried. But after redshirt junior linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. announced he would be leaving as a graduate transfer, Pruitt met with him, and Kirkland changed his mind.
Pruitt called his own bluff. He knows he needs every scholarship body – and a few of the walk-on bodies – he inherited to be successful this season.
The only player departures in the coaching transition were Quinten Dormady and reserve defensive lineman Quay Picou.
It’s natural to expect more attrition within a college program after a coaching change, especially on the heels of such a dismal season. For some reason, most of Tennessee’s players stayed.
Their persistence is one sign of a collective maturity that seems to be brewing within the locker room.
Take, for example, the fact that Jauan Jennings stood up in front of the team and apologized in a players-only meeting. Jennings was kicked off the team near the end of last season following a public rant against an interim coaching staff. He wanted to come back.
Pruitt probably encouraged Jennings to apologize, but he was not in the room for the moment.
Pruitt also was not present for summer workouts and 7-on-7 work, but he saw the fruits of the player-led activities during the first week of preseason practice.
“I really like the guys on our team,” Pruitt said. “They’re fun to be around. They’re willing to do whatever we ask. They’re hungry. They have not questioned anything that we’ve asked them to do. They’ve just done it. As long as they continue to do that, we’ll be OK.”
Pruitt is calculating in everything he says publicly, especially when it comes to doling out praise. He calls it like he sees it, and if he’s willing to say something publicly, it’s a sign that he believes it.
Look, also, at the number of players returning from injury. Redshirt junior offensive lineman Chance Hall, redshirt freshman offensive lineman K’Rojhn Calbert, redshirt senior safety Todd Kelly Jr., sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith, Jennings and Kirkland and at least a couple others missed most or all of spring practices.
The severity of their health issues gave reason to believe at least a couple of them might not return to Tennessee or to playing football at all. But when the Vols started preseason practice, each was on the field.
They all have compelling stories of struggle and persistence for a shot at redemption. You haven’t heard much about those stories, because of limited media access to them.
So in many ways, the narrative of this Tennessee team remains faceless – as the media guide suggests – and will continue to center on Pruitt and AD Phillip Fulmer as the season nears.
But don’t sleep on the players who chose to come back for a shot at laying the foundation for future success in the wake of the program’s darkest hour.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.