He is one win away from showing his former pupils that he remains the man in college football.
During this month, Nick Saban battled Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) and Kirby Smart (Georgia) and emerged with a victory in each matchup. The final test comes this weekend at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
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Jeremy Pruitt is in his third year as head coach at the University of Tennessee.
He was a high school coach in the state of Alabama for eight years, including three years (2004-06) at Hoover High School.
When he arrived at the University of Alabama in 2007, Pruitt served as the Director of Player Development. He held that role for three years and then was promoted to on-field assistant (defensive backs’ coach) in 2010. He was on Saban’s staff from 2007 to 2012, winning three national championships and two Southeastern Conference titles. After being a defensive coordinator at Florida State (2013) and Georgia (2014-15), he returned to the Crimson Tide in 2016. Pruitt had Alabama rocking on defense for two seasons, as it totaled 94 sacks, 219 tackles for loss, 25 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 35 interceptions and 11 touchdowns combined in 2016 and 2017.
He ran the best defense of the Saban era in 2016 and won a national title in 2017.
Pruitt turned the Volunteers around last year after a 5-7 campaign in 2018.
Tennessee started the 2019 season at 1-4, but won seven of its last eight games to finish at 8-5.
This year started with wins over South Carolina and Missouri, but the Vols dropped its recent matchups with Georgia and Kentucky.
Now at 2-2, Pruitt looks to prepare his team to face Saban and the Tide. Despite winning 11 games in 2019, Alabama struggled against Tennessee at home.
Prior to a touchdown pass from Slade Bolden to Miller Forristall and a 100-yard fumble return for a score from Trevon Diggs, Pruitt had the Vols trailing by just eight points (21-13) in the third quarter. Tennessee played physical on defense and was converting third downs on offense.
If not for two turnovers, the game had a chance to swing in the opposite direction.
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The Tide picked up a 35-13 victory, but Saban knows how deep this rivalry is.
“This game means a lot to a lot of people in the state of Alabama,” Saban said on Monday. “I’m sure that because it is a rivalry game, we are going to get the absolute best version of Tennessee’s team. Jeremy has done a really good job, in my opinion. They have played very well this year. They are very well-coached, they are in the right spots, they play with a lot of effort and toughness.”
Although Saban does not know which quarterback the Vols will go to, he knows Alabama cannot take Tennessee lightly.
Turnovers really hurt Pruitt’s bunch against Georgia and Kentucky.
Tennessee carried a 21-17 lead on the Bulldogs at halftime; however, three turnovers cost it the game. Jarrett Guarantano threw an interception and lost two fumbles. Georgia won the matchup, 44-21, and the Vols had four mistakes in the following week.
Guarantano tossed a pair of picks against the Wildcats and lost a fumble in a 7-34 defeat to Kentucky.
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Tennessee could easily be 4-0 or at least 3-1.
Pruitt has to get his team on the right track and Alabama may provide an opportunity for him to do it. With a defense that is still finding itself, the Vols must establish success in the ground game versus the Tide’s defensive front and settle its quarterback in with simple passes. He came very close to beating Saban last year, but Pruitt can end this month by toppling his former boss.
He is the final former assistant Saban has to duel with in October.
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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.
