KNOXVILLE - Tennessee redshirt freshman Kurott Garland, who entered his name in the NCAA's transfer portal in late July, returned to the Volunteers on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-3, 304-pound defensive lineman could provide depth to an inexperienced position group. He appeared in only four games last year, and under NCAA rules implemented in 2018, that means he still has four seasons of eligibility remaining.
"The portal, a lot of people look at it as a bad thing," Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said. "I'm not one that looks at it that way. You're talking about a young man that comes here as a freshman and had several obstacles to go through physically. He was thinking about possibly transferring, we supported him all the way through and in the end he decided to come back here.
"He's here, we're excited that he's here and I think the guy has lots of ability. He didn't get to go through spring (practices), but he took some reps out there today. He's got to go through a little bit of acclimation here, but we have a plan for him. He's a guy that I think has lots of upside and has done everything we've asked him to do in this program since he's been here. We're excited that he's here, and we'll see how he responds over the next couple of days being back out there."
Who makes the call?
Pruitt built his résumé as a defensive coordinator, with two of his five total national championships won as an assistant coming while calling defensive plays for Florida State in 2013 and Alabama in 2017. That reputation helped him earn the head job at Tennessee in December 2017, and he called the defense last year in his first season with the Vols.
He has since relinquished those controls to Derrick Ansley, who was hired as defensive coordinator in the offseason and works with defensive backs. However, with Pruitt's knowledge and experience as a DC - and Ansley's lack thereof - the head coach still plans to help with in-game decisions.
"I don't think it's going to be any different than it was before," Pruitt said Tuesday. "I'll hear every call that goes out there, and if there is one I don't like, I'll say, 'Call this instead.'
"Why am I the head coach at Tennessee? Probably because I was a good play caller at one time. I think me completely getting out of it wouldn't be very smart. Derrick has a great feel - and I've watched him in camp and in spring - of what we want to get accomplished, but he'll do a good job of it and if he needs help, I'll help him."
Picking it up nicely
Freshman inside linebacker Henry To'o To'o continues to impress in practice, with Pruitt speaking on the 6-foot-2, 232-pounder's consistency throughout the preseason.
"We've had several young guys that have been really consistent, which is a positive," Pruitt said. "Maybe it's maturity, I don't know what it is, but you see it everywhere. I've seen it over the years, and you can't predict it. It don't matter who's got how many stars or where they played at or anything like that. Sometimes when it kind of gets going in fall camp, some guys, they don't blink and some guys do, but usually they all get it eventually, so he's picked it up pretty fast."
Quick hits
Freshman defender Aaron Beasley, who has been working with the safeties since arriving, was moved to inside linebacker this week as a result of senior Daniel Bituli nursing a knee injury. Pruitt noted Beasley could find a role as a linebacker in the team's nickel and sub packages this season. ... Pruitt thinks the offensive line will probably rotate "eight to 10 guys" during games due to the belief there are that many who deserve to play.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.