Alabama Football: A closer look at Tennessee with a Vols Insider

Alabama football fans might not have paid close attention to the Tennessee Vols this season. For some details, here’s an inside look from someone in the know.

Not all of us Alabama football fans have strong memories of a Vols seven-game win streak from 1995-2001. A streak that was part of a Vols run that gave them 10 wins over the span of 12 seasons.

Let’s admit it – some Alabama football fans do not view Tennessee as a rival, much less a hated rival. So if you are part of the group who considers the Vols something of an afterthought, you may need a short primer on the 2018 Vols.

Instead of just writing over and over about the history between the two schools, we have something different for Crimson Tide fans. Seeking to understand Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee team, we conferred with Vols expert, Caleb Calhoun. Caleb grew up in Memphis but is actually a Maryland graduate. He runs the Tennessee site in the FanSided network, All for Tennessee.

Caleb does not understand why so many Alabama football fans hate Phil Fulmer but don’t hold that against him. He is an expert on Tennessee football. Caleb was kind enough to answer some of our questions about the Vols.

What is the Vols strongest team attribute? And what position group is the best?

Tennessee’s strongest team attribute is they don’t quit. You can see it in them, and it finally paid off against Auburn. Even in getting blown out by Florida and Georgia, the Vols kept fighting in the second half. And they made both games interesting for a brief period because of that.

As for their best position group, well, the front seven is playing the best right now. Alexis Johnson has exploded onto the scene this year at defensive tackle. However, I’m going to say the receivers are still the best group overall, it just took a while for Tyson Helton to call the right plays to get them the ball. He finally did last Saturday, and it worked like a charm.

Jauan Jennings is a proven gamer, Marquez Callaway is one of the best with the ball in open space, and Josh Palmer has emerged into an elite target. They all have size and athleticism, which is very helpful to Jarrett Guarantano.

What is the Vols weakest team attribute? And what position group is the worst?

The weakest attribute to the team is depth. Jeremy Pruitt just doesn’t have a lot of guys who can play four quarters. Because of the new systems, the offense takes time to get rolling in games. They finally got it going in the second half against Georgia and Florida. But by the time that had happened, the defense was too tired to get them the ball back. So it makes any big comeback impossible.

The worst unit is clearly the offensive line. And it plays into depth being the weakest attribute. Because they are all transitioning from a spread to a pro-style, they all have to learn how to hold blocks on developing running plays. Unfortunately, they take too long to get in a rhythm doing that, which is why the offense often doesn’t come to life until the second half, by which time the defense is still tired. Tennessee tries to establish the run, but interior blocking has been horrendous this year. It’s the biggest reason they are 3-3 and no better.

Some Tide fans believe Phil Fulmer still wishes he was the head coach. To what extent, if any, does he get involved with coaching or telling Pruitt how to coach the team?

As far as we can see, Phillip Fulmer has only helped Pruitt when he’s been asked, and Pruitt says he’s asked Fulmer for help a lot, particularly with blocking fundamentals on the offensive line. We’ve seen Fulmer help out with the line in practice, and he also is there to support the players on the sidelines and in the locker room.

It may seem a bit odd, but Fulmer always had a unique ability to connect with the players, so it’s actually a good thing. I think Fulmer was never really happy about being let go in the first place in 2008, and I do believe that if he had his way, he would definitely still be coaching. However, at the same time, I actually believe them when they say he only gets involved when asked. Fulmer seems very happy with his role as A.D., and he knows that Pruitt’s success will be reflected back on him. His goal was always to be one of those elite SEC legends and maybe the biggest Tennessee football legend. If Pruitt works out, he may achieve just that.

Who do you think is the biggest influence on Jeremy Pruitt as a head coach? Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban or Gene Stallings?

Jeremy Pruitt will take some things from Fulmer, and he probably has the closest relationship with Gene Stallings, but there’s no question here. It’s Nick Saban. As a player or a coach, this is Pruitt’s 16th year in the college game. And eight of them were with Saban while a ninth was under a Saban assistant, Jimbo Fisher.

Pruitt clashed with Mark Richt because Saban’s intensity rubbed off on him, and it was a fiery style that didn’t work with what Richt did. In fact, it doesn’t really mesh as well with Fulmer’s style either. The only thing Pruitt may have taken away from Stallings from an X’s and O’s was how he coached cornerbacks, as Stallings stayed committed to playing press coverage no matter what, and that’s what Pruitt is doing now. And Pruitt played defensive back under Stallings.

But Saban has likely had just as much of an influence on him there as well. So no matter what you say about another coach’s influence, they don’t come close to Saban’s.

Caleb shared with us surprise background that Phil Fulmer almost came to the Crimson Tide to play football. All we can say is, Alabama football dodged a bullet on that one.