Jeremy Pruitt Shares Thoughts on New Staff Hires During Knoxville QB Club Meeting

Jeremy Pruitt's staff had plenty of turnover this off-season, and he shared his thoughts on the new hires here.

Jeremy Pruitt's staff had several departures during the off-season, and Pruitt made pivotal hires heading into his third-year as the Head Coach at the University of Tennessee. Today, on a Zoom call as the first speaker for the Knoxville Quarterback Club, Pruitt had plenty to say about his new hires.

Pruitt started out by talking about the return of Jay Graham to Rocky Top. He said, "Starting at the running back position, getting Jay Graham back here, I think has been a really, really good move. I worked with Jay at Florida State and obviously played against him when we were in college. He's been a good friend and a guy that does a great job mentoring our running backs, and he's also doing our special teams this year. So I'm proud to have Jay as part of our staff."

Another returning piece to the Tennessee staff, came in the form of new outside linebackers coach, Shelton Felton, who was previously a quality control assistant at Tennessee before moving to an on-field role at Akron in 2019.

Pruitt said on him, "Shelton Felton came to us from Akron, Ohio. A guy that I've known for quite some time, that played college ball at Troy State, was a high school coach in the state of Georgia at one time. (He) was originally on our staff in 2018 in a quality control position, but is doing a nice job also."

New defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh is a guy that many in the Tennessee world are excited about. “We have added Jimmy Brumbaugh as our defensive line coach. Jimmy is a guy, again, that is about my age that played at Auburn. Understands our system, has worked under some folks that have been in our defensive system over the years. A guy that is very knowledgable and is doing a really nice job," Pruitt said on the new position coach who he hired away from Colorado.

One of the most important hires that Pruitt has made to date came on the heels of Craig Fitzgerald's return to the NFL. Pruitt hired an up-and-comer in A.J. Artis, who has been apart of the Pruitt tenure since Day 1.

Pruitt said on Artis, "We also have a new strength coach in AJ Artis. AJ is somebody that we’ve been very familiar with. He’s been in our program since we started here. When Coach Fitz had an opportunity to get back closer to his family and in-laws, there was no doubt who I had felt like we needed to hire, in AJ. He’s a guy that brings a wealth of knowledge. He’s young. I like his spirit. The players really respond to him well."

In just 12 days, we will see how Pruitt's new hires have fared as the Vols are set to take on South Carolina on September 26th.

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