It’s been three years since Jeremy Pruitt graced the sidelines of Sanford Stadium, but he can’t escape questions about his time in Athens.
Even while sporting a bright orange tie and a “Power T” pin, Tennessee’s newest head coach was asked about his relationship with Mark Richt. Pruitt danced around the question at first, mentioning a handful of previous coaches he worked with before mentioning Richt.
The former defensive coordinator gave a nod to Nick Saban, calling him “relentless” and saying, “Nobody works harder than he does. He's a great coach, great teacher.” Then he referred to Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher as a “hard-nosed competitor (and) great evaluator.”
When Pruitt finally addressed his relationship with Richt, the message was a bit different.
“Coach Richt, you know, the things he taught you, one thing, probably the biggest thing to me is there's more to life than football,” Pruitt said. “One of these days ... you don't care how many championships you win and all that. So I'm thankful for the opportunity.”
Fans took to Twitter to express their opposition to Richt’s lesson.
Since Kirby Smart took over at Georgia, the Bulldogs and Volunteers are tied at 1-1. Pruitt will try to knock off the Bulldogs and erase memories of the 41-0 loss from last season when the two teams meet Sept. 29.
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