Jeremy Pruitt down to final day with Crimson Tide before joining Vols

Jeremy Pruitt will finish his juggling act as Alabama's defensive coordinator and Tennessee's new head coach during tonight's championship game of the College Football Playoff at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Jeremy Pruitt will finish his juggling act as Alabama's defensive coordinator and Tennessee's new head coach during tonight's championship game of the College Football Playoff at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

ATLANTA - In a few more hours, Jeremy Pruitt will leave his role as Alabama's defensive coordinator for a full-time focus as the head coach at Tennessee.

It has been a juggling act that was complicated last month by college football's first early signing period, but Pruitt had the advantage of watching Kirby Smart make a transition two years ago from Crimson Tide defensive coordinator to Georgia's head coach. Pruitt's defense has the challenge of stopping Smart's Bulldogs tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the championship game of the College Football Playoff.

"I came over here two years ago and got to watch Kirby try to do the deal at Georgia and then get ready for Michigan State and Clemson," Pruitt said. "I think it helped me having watched him for those three weeks. It's not an easy deal, but it's been enjoyable."

Speaking inside Philips Arena during Saturday's main media event for the title showdown that kicks off at 8:17 on ESPN, Pruitt said there were no parameters set by Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Pruitt missed the Crimson Tide's first couple of on-campus practices for the Sugar Bowl in order to focus on Tennessee recruiting through the early signing period (Dec. 20-22).

"We've worked with each other for eight years, so usually we can kind of finish each other's sentences," Pruitt said. "I know his expectations, and I know my expectations."

Pruitt's juggling performance will largely be defined by tonight's outcome, at least from the Alabama perspective. He has done just fine so far, as the Crimson Tide held Clemson to 64 rushing yards and 188 total yards and forced two Kelly Bryant interceptions in last Monday night's 24-6 whipping in New Orleans.

His role as chief recruiter for the Volunteers has been nothing short of staggering, with Tennessee landing a commitment Saturday from four-star linebacker J.J. Peterson of Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Ga. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Peterson is rated by 247Sports.com as the nation's No. 2 outside linebacker and No. 44 prospect overall.

Tennessee was 27th in the 247Sports.com team rankings on Dec. 7, when Pruitt was introduced as head coach. The Vols and some of their commitments parted ways in the days that followed, which resulted in Tennessee beginning the early signing period at No. 54, but they quickly regrouped and began a rapid ascension.

The addition of Peterson has resulted in the Vols moving up to 16th, leaving Alabama and Tennessee fans quite pleased with how Pruitt has handled things to this point.

"There are only 24 hours in a day, and, for me, there was a little feeling of guilt," Pruitt said. "You almost feel like, 'I'm sitting here working on this game, but should I be doing something for the place that I'm about to go?' Or there is, 'I'm trying to recruit or hire somebody for Tennessee, and should I be spending these 45 minutes getting more ready to try and find a way to stop Sony (Michel) and Nick (Chubb)?'

"There really isn't a good answer to that, and I've just tried to manage it the best that I could."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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