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By
Zach Ragan
March 8, 2020
Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt made a bold decision
earlier this offseason by allowing defensive line coach Tracy Rocker’s contract
to expire, essentially moving on from the veteran assistant coach.
Rocker did a good job coaching
Tennessee’s defensive line during his two seasons at UT (they were one of the
most improved units for the Vols in 2019), but his recruiting efforts left a
lot to be desired.
Pruitt replaced Rocker by hiring Colorado defensive line coach Jimmy
Brumbaugh to coach Tennessee’s defensive line (while Rocker took the
same position on Will Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina).
There were rumblings for months
that Rocker wouldn’t be back in Knoxville in 2020, so it wasn’t a surprise that
a change was made.
Hiring Brumbaugh, however,
wasn’t an expected move by Pruitt. His name never really surfaced until just
before the hire was reported.
Pruitt obviously knew what he was doing, though.
Brumbaugh, who coached at Kentucky with Vols defensive coordinator
Derrick Ansley, is already paying dividends for Tennessee.
On Saturday, three-star defensive linemen Isaac Washington,
6-foot-3/268 lbs from Pilot Mountain, NC, re-committed to Tennessee after a
visit to Rocky Top.
Washington previously decommitted
from the Vols after Rocker left for South Carolina. Saturday was his first time meeting Brumbaugh.
Four-star defensive
lineman Payton Page, 6-foot-4/342 lbs from Greensboro, NC, echoed those
sentiments after visiting UT on Saturday, telling VolQuest “It really changed how I think
about Tennessee….how the defensive line coach thinks.”
Page added “It was natural talking to him (Brumbaugh).
Usually it’s kind of awkward talking to a coach because I never had met him. I
felt like I had talked to him before.”
The stud defensive lineman is
one of the Vols’ top 2021 recruiting targets. But they aren’t alone in their
pursuit of Page. Clemson, LSU, and North Carolina, among many others, are also
strongly pursuing the Greensboro native.
But it’s clear that Brumbaugh made a big impression on Page — which is
what he was hired to do. This is just another example of Pruitt knowing exactly what needs
to be done to make Tennessee’s coaching staff better.
I’ve yet to see Pruitt made a
bad coaching hire (Tyson Helton as offensive coordinator didn’t work out very
well, but Pruitt quickly corrected the situation). He’s continuously finding a
way to improve Tennessee football from top to bottom.
The Vols’ staff experienced a
lot of turnover this year, but it’s as strong as ever.
Featured image via Colorado Athletics
