His time in the National Football League with the New Orleans Saints was short lived, but D.J. Pettway remains heavily involved as a student of the game.
After having a productive collegiate career at the University of Alabama, the former defensive lineman was recently hired to Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt’s staff as a defensive quality control coach.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “quality control coach” is someone who prepares a team for a game and it usually two or three weeks before the actual game. As a defensive control coach, Pettway will prep the Volunteers on opposing offenses the school faces in the fall.
Prior to earning this opportunity, the Florida native was a four-star in the Crimson Tide’s 2012 signing class. Despite an off-field issue after his freshman year, which dismissed him from the program, Pettway returned to Tuscaloosa in 2014 as one of the top junior college prospects.
He finished with 48 total tackles – including 12.5 for loss, seven sacks and eight quarterback hurries in helping Alabama capture two BCS national championships (2012, 2015) and two Southeastern Conference titles. Pettway never played under Pruitt for the Tide, however, two Nick Saban disciples for the Volunteers bodes well in Knoxville (Tenn.) in the years to come.
Should one check out his Twitter account, it now reads @DjPettwayUT.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
