By Jimmy Hyams
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt made about a dozen position changes during spring practice.
He moved a running back to cornerback, a receiver to cornerback, a receiver to corner then safety then back to receiver. He moved several defensive linemen to offensive line. He moved a tight end to linebacker, a linebacker to tight end.
Pruitt’s reasoning was two-fold: 1. Find the best position for the player, and, 2. build depth.
“The big thing is, we’re trying to figure out who our best football players are and we’re trying to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are,’’ Pruitt said.
“At linebacker, you’ll have guys that play inside backer and they’ll also have the ability to play outside backer. So if you have injuries, it’s an opportunity to create depth.’’
Or if you have defections.
Tennessee had a surprising defection Thursday night when Darrin Kirkland Jr., considered one of the team’s better defenders, announced he was leaving Tennessee. He will be a grad transfer with two years of eligibility remaining. He sat out last season with a knee injury and missed about half of the 2016 season due to injury.
Filling Kirkland’s shoes won’t be easy. Daniel Bituli and Quart’e Sapp are the likely starters at inside linebacker, if UT does indeed run a 3-4. Will Ignont is probably the next best inside backer. Or maybe it will be freshman J.J. Peterson.
Kirkland’s departure is an example of why Pruitt moves players around to build depth.
Pruitt didn’t just try to find backers who could play inside or out. He looked for defensive backs who could play corner or safety. And there was more.
“We actually had some guys that changed sides of the ball,’’ Pruitt said.
“So, we’re just trying to create value in them and it probably helps them learn the entire system.’’
Is there a chance Pruitt could make more position changes based on what he saw during the spring game.
“There’s probably some guys that are going to be moved that have no idea that they’re going to be moved,’’ Pruitt said in an interview on SportsTalk, WMNL radio. “So, we’ll have to see where that goes this summer and fall.’’
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
