KNOXVILLE - Jeremy Pruitt knew he needed to relinquish some control of his football team this past offseason after his first year as head coach at Tennessee. In doing so, he wanted to bring in people he felt comfortable with who also would be able to do a good job teaching the positions they coached.
In Derrick Ansley, Pruitt felt he had a guy who could do that by working with defensive backs but also could learn how to coordinate a defense.
Based on recent games, it appears Ansley is settling into his new role.
After a 1-4 start, the Volunteers have won three of their past four games to move to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in Southeastern Conference play heading into the final three contests of the regular season - at Kentucky this Saturday and at Missouri on Nov. 23 before the home finale against Vanderbilt on Nov. 30. The defense has sparked the turnaround, forcing eight turnovers in the past four games and allowing averages of just 318.5 total yards and 18.3 points per game.
The Vols allowed 167.4 rushing yards per game and 4.1 per carry in their first five contests this season, nonconference matchups with Georgia State, BYU and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, plus SEC games against Florida and Georgia. Since then they have allowed just 100.5 rushing yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry against a trio of SEC foes - Mississippi State, Alabama, South Carolina - and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
After eight sacks and 21 tackles for loss in the first five games, Tennessee has 15 and 24 in the past four. The next test comes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against the Wildcats (4-4, 2-4), with SEC Network televising the game.
"Coach Ansley, he's a man," freshman linebacker Henry To'o To'o said after the Vols' 30-7 win over UAB on Saturday. "The way he comes up with schemes and stuff like that, and just the entire coaching staff, they all come together as one to be able to make us play how we play."
And that fits Pruitt's vision. A former defensive coordinator at Alabama, Georgia and Florida State, he knows how important it is to have help figuring out ways to attack an offense. In recent weeks it appears he and his defensive staff have been able to do just that.
"Derrick Ansley is a guy that, for me, I don't have to be in the room," Pruitt said Saturday night. "I know what's being said. I know how the room is prepared. I know how his meetings are run - he's going to say exactly what I would say to him. He's one of the best coaches that I've ever been around. It's been great to watch him grow and develop over the years. At one time he was my graduate assistant, and then the last couple of years he's been a defensive backs coach at places that I've been at and he does a phenomenal job."
Ansley spent last season in the NFL, coaching defensive backs for the Oakland Raiders. His return to the college game has provided the chance for new challenges he is working to meet.
"He's improving as a play caller. He does a really nice job with that," Pruitt said. "He commands attention. He's done a great job coaching the guys up on the sideline, and he gets the information from the guys upstairs who do a really nice job, Kevin (Sherrer) and the other guys up there. Tracy Rocker and Chris Rumph do a nice job, too, so it's a really good group to work with.
"We don't have any secrets in our room. We say what we think to each other, which is the way I like to work. It's fun being around them and they do a really nice job, and I think the kids like being around them, too."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.