KNOXVILLE – Jeremy Pruitt came away from his first experience at Neyland Stadium that included fans with some compliments and a challenge that echoed the challenge he issued to his players.
An announced crowd of 65,098 watched Tennessee’s Orange team defeat the White team 34-7. That figure surpassed the 61,076 who were announced at the first spring game under Butch Jones in 2013, but Saturday’s attendance was less than the 2018 spring game attendance at Georgia (82,184) and Alabama (74,732), which are Pruitt’s most recent previous employers.
“Well, to me, it’s kind of like our football team for the fans,” the Volunteers’ new coach said. “The ones that were here, I’m proud they were here. They’re fired up and ready to get going. Then there were some people that wasn’t here that had legitimate reasons they couldn’t be here, all right. Then there were some people that wasn’t here that, why wasn’t they here? It’s kind of like our football team.
“I think we all need to look in the mirror and see who we want to be.”
Pruitt also mentioned that he thought the fan support “was great” and that the Vol Walk before the game was “spectacular.”