The story is pretty well known around Athens about the day that Jeremy Pruitt was introduced to the team as Georgia’s new defensive coordinator. We’re told the players greeted him with a standing ovation.
But that story is only partially true. One player did not stand up and applaud that day seven months ago.
“I just sat in my seat,” confessed Amarlo Herrera, a senior inside linebacker for the Bulldogs. “I was chillin’ on it.”
Why didn’t Herrera join in?
“You’ve have to meet and get to know somebody first,” he explained earlier this week. “You earn respect over time. I wouldn’t expect him to stand up and clap for me if I walked in a room when he first got here. You’ve got learn about people.”
Here’s all one needs to know about Herrera’s little back story on Pruitt: “I’d definitely stand up now. He’s earned my respect.”
Pruitt, who was defensive coordinator at Florida State, will make his debut as Georgia’s defensive chief Saturday when No. 16 Clemson steps between the hedges to face the No. 12 Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium (5:30 p.m., ESPN). Together with three other assistant coaches who joined Pruitt in January, it represents the first time in 50 years —Vince Dooley’s first season in Athens — that an entirely new defensive staff has taken over at UGA.
But as Herrera and virtually every member of the team — coach, player or support staff will acknowledge — Pruitt’s impact has gone far beyond the defense. Not only has Pruitt changed what the Bulldogs are doing on defense, he also has initiated changes in Georgia’s daily practice routines, in its strength-and-conditioning program and in its overall attitude.
“It’s been huge,” defensive end Sterling Bailey said. “From Day 1, he’s had a very big impact on us, coming in, changing things, having us focus on what we need to work on, bringing enthusiasm every day, taking practice really serious. It’s been all about us and focusing on things that we need to improve on.”
Pruitt, 40, showed up at Georgia exactly one week after FSU won the BCS championship. Todd Grantham, the Bulldogs’ previous defensive coordinator, accepted a job at Louisville on Jan. 12. Pruitt — a buddy of Georgia offensive assistants Mike Bobo and Will Friend — was in Athens the next day, and he was hired the day after that.
Pruitt’s arrival provided a salve for Grantham’s disloyal departure, hence the rousing meeting-room welcome. Understandably, his abrupt exit didn’t go over so well in Tallahassee, where he ended up spending just 55 weeks.
“I mean, we’ve moved on,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said this week. “Jeremy did a great job for us. He’ll do a great job for Georgia. Very happy for him, and it’s a great opportunity. Jeremy’s a heckuva coach. It didn’t tick me off a bit. That’s what he’s thinks is best for him.”
It had to chap the Seminoles. Under Pruitt’s leadership, their defense finished with the No. 1 national ranking in points allowed (12.1 pg) and passing yards allowed (156.6 pg) and was third in total defense (281.4 ypg).
The Bulldogs knew about all that. What they couldn’t have known was how extensively Pruitt’s presence would be felt.
At Pruitt’s suggestion, Georgia changed its routines. It did away with the five-minute intervals it used to organize practices, extending some and reducing others. It began “two-spotting” simultaneously on two fields, with players from the first two units getting concurrent repetitions on one field while those from the third and fourth got them on the other.
“The No. 1 thing I think is going to help us is the development of depth,” Bobo said. “Some guys might not have gotten as many reps before, and they have to learn by watching and film study because they’re not getting many reps. Guys are getting reps all over the place, and we’re able to develop guys at a faster rate.”
Pruitt’s influence was immediately vast and deep. He recommended that not only the defensive players drop weight and slim down, but every player on the team. He asked that pop music be eliminated from weight-room workouts and that a general attitude of serious focus be maintained at all team-preparation functions, especially during practices.
The philosophies were brought to Athens by Pruitt from his previous stints under Fisher, Nick Saban at Alabama and Rush Propst in high school before that. And the changes have been embraced by Mark Richt and his returning staff.
“Any time I hire new coaches, I want to know what they know,” said Richt, who is on his fourth defensive coordinator in his 14th season as Georgia’s head coach. “Not just about football and x’s-and-o’s and schemes, but also how things were done at different places they’ve been at. I want to know some of the things that other people do and just see if there’s a better way. Sometimes it’s not necessarily a better way, but if it’s a different way and everybody is bought into it, then that’s fine, too.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting everybody excited about something new.”
Pruitt’s task on the field is gargantuan. Georgia wasn’t wholly awful on defense last season, but it was really bad in the areas that matter most. That starts with points allowed (29.0), where the Bulldogs ranked 78th in the nation. But they also were notably deficient in passing yards allowed (60th, 227.4 ypg), pass-efficiency defense (84th, 134.74), third-down conversions (66th, 39.9 percent), fourth-down conversions (103rd, 63.6 percent), red-zone defense (86th, .854), and turnover margin (102nd, minus-0.5).
As secondary coach, Pruitt will look to make improvement with a unit that is expected to feature at least three first-time starters Saturday. His approach to remedying these issues through two basic channels: simplifying calls and concepts to eliminate at-the-snap confusion and hyper-emphasizing “ball disruption” to create takeaways.
“We’re definitely attacking the ball more,” said junior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, who’s playing the new “Jack” defensive end/outside linebacker position in Pruitt’s defense. “Every day, Pruitt comes in and he puts a certain number on the board. He says, ‘I want this many turnovers and tips and ball disruptions.’ However much we’re short, that’s how much we run after practice.”
Jenkins said one day they had “42 or 43” ball disruptions.
There are a lot of other things the Bulldogs are still learning about Pruitt. He’s the type of coach who works around the clock and often sleeps on a couch in his office. Recruiting is not just another thing he has to do in the job; he approaches it as blood sport. When he allows himself to be interviewed by media — he has declined all requests for the past two weeks — his answers are usually short and blunt.
His philosophy can be summed up in the most recent interview he gave: “It’s not about what we as coaches know; it’s about what the players know,” he told the SEC Network.
And that impressed players such as Herrera. Pruitt won him over.
“Whenever somebody new comes in and things begin to change, you’re not going to like that,” Herrera said. “But he’s changed the culture around here. He’s changed the way we do things. Our confidence level is high.”
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will find out if that translates to the scoreboard.
