Everything Jeremy Pruitt Said About Tennessee's Match-up Against Kentucky on Monday

Everything Jeremy Pruitt Said About Tennessee's Match-up Against Kentucky on Monday

18th ranked Tennessee (2-1) will welcome Kentucky (1-2) into Neyland Stadium this Saturday for another match-up in what has been a lopsided series dominated by the Vols. Kentucky is coming off of their first win of the season over Mississippi State, while Tennessee is looking to get back on track following an ugly loss to Georgia. Jeremy Pruitt is 2-0 against the Wildcats, and he is not looking over them this weekend. He had plenty to say about Kentucky during Monday's press conference. 

Pruitt opened the press conference by saying: 

When you look at Kentucky this week, Coach (Mark) Stoops has done a fantastic job there. They're one of the best teams in the conference when it comes to running the football. They do a nice job – very creative in the run game. They use their quarterback running the football. They have a stable of running backs and a bunch of guys running the ball well there. They have an experienced offensive line. Defensively, they've always created issues in our league, the last three or four years. Really good in the red area. A lot of blitzing, varieties in coverages there, so you gotta do a nice job. They've always done a nice job at special teams. Just looking at this week, we gotta get back to work. Our kids will have a positive attitude, and we'll go back and do that."

On Preparing for Kentucky This Week:

"They play good defense and probably should be 3-0. They lost a tough one at Ole Miss, and I think we all saw what happened down at Auburn on the play that was reviewed there. They very easily could be 3-0. They've been one of the better teams in our conference for the last several years. They're committed to running the football. They believe in their plan. They're a physical team that's disciplined. They play well together. It will be a tremendous challenge for us."

On Joey Gatewood Potentially Seeing More Snaps

"I think they're similar quarterbacks. He played a little bit this past week, so we have to be ready for everything."

On Potentially Making a QB Change for Kentucky

"Well Jarrett is our quarterback. He gives us the best opportunity to have success. When you have 1st and 20, it's tough to make first downs. When you have 2nd and 15, it's tough to make first downs. We didn't do a very good job protecting. We didn't play very fast on the perimeter. It's the way the game goes. I played quarterback. When you don't have a lot of success, the quarterback takes too much blame. When you have a lot of success, the quarterback probably gets too much credit. Offensively, our struggle Saturday was not because of one independent person. It was a team effort. We understand that. It starts with us as coaches to put our guys in a better position to have success.”

On Wearing Black Jerseys Against Kentucky

"I've learned a really good lesson as a head football coach. There are contracts within our organization that are about our apparel and what we're allowed to wear. It's something that our players and staff want to do. It's something that we're not going to be able to do from the standpoint of our contract. We're going to find ways within our organization to raise money and support local institutions. We're not going to be able to do it this game. Nike guaranteed us that from now on we would be able to have black jerseys. It's something we've worked hard on within our administration to get done."

On Being Creative In the Run Game Against Kentucky

"When you look at Kentucky, they use their quarterbacks in the run game a lot. If you're not going to do that, your quarterback has got to be a guy that can get the ball out of his hands and get it to the playmakers. To do that, it takes all eleven guys working together."