Vol Report: Pruitt Raves About Coach Johnson, Welcomes Kamara to Practice

Spring Practice No. 6 Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee football team returned to Haslam Field for the sixth practice of the spring on Saturday.

The Vols were once again in full pads and wrapping up the second week of practice.

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt liked the "juice" several players brought to the field during the session, but acknowledged the Vols will need every player performing with a high level of intensity and excitement to become successful.

"We had beautiful weather out there today, and we had some guys that were jumping around," Pruitt said. "You know, it's Saturday. For us that's game day. So, we had some guys that kind of moved around out there and had some juice about them. There were some guys that started out practice a little sluggish, but they got going as practice went, and then we had some guys that, you know what, they just kind of took it. So, the thing about it is it kind of bounces around who has got the juice day to day. One thing we have to do is we have to get where everybody is at their highest level every day. That'll make the competition a lot better, and our guys will improve a lot faster if everybody has kind of got it every day."

Kamara Attends Practice
Reigning NFL Rookie of the Year Alvin Kamara attended Tennessee's practice on Saturday.

Kamara led all rookies with 14 total touchdowns and ranked second with 1,554 yards from scrimmage in 2017 for the New Orleans Saints. He captured the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honor as well as the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Kamara was a team captain, totaled 1,188 all-purpose yards and scored 13 touchdowns in his final season with the Vols in 2016.

"I think it's good for the program," Pruitt said about former players returning to practice. "It's good to get everybody back. Tennessee is a football program that has a lot of pride and has had a lot of pride for a long, long time. It's like I tell the guys, they were playing football here long before we were born, and they're going to be playing football here long after we're gone. It's our job to leave it better than we found it. And, we're going to take a lot of pride in doing that. So, there's been a lot of men over the years that have worked very hard to build this program up, and I get it, and I want these guys to come back. I know the sense of pride when they come back, and I think they like what they see from our guys.

"Our guys are working hard. We're not perfect, but we're working, I can assure you that. They're getting coached in everything that they do. I want as many former VFLs back as we can get. It's going to take all of us to get this program back where it's supposed to be, and I think that everybody is willing to do that."

Kamara is one of several VFLs who have come by to watch spring ball over the last two weeks. College Football Hall of Fame member Johnny Majors and Buffalo Bills tight end Jason Croom were also in attendance on Saturday.

Johnson Comes with Impressive Resume
Unlike several of the position coaches who had direct ties to Pruitt, wide receivers coach David Johnson had never worked with the Vols' head coach until this spring. Still, the former Memphis and Tulane assistant coach and New Orleans high school head coach had been on Pruitt's radar for years.

"A couple years ago, I had a friend of mine that I coached with, and he told me, 'Jeremy, one of these days you'll get an opportunity to be a head football coach, here's a guy that I know, I've seen and I've worked with that you need to keep on your radar,'" Pruitt said. "I never actually met him, but I did a lot of research. Everybody raves about David, and now I've seen him out on the field since he's been here. He's very knowledgeable, and he could coach more than one position. Here's a guy that was head coach at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. So he could actually coach any position. He does a really good job, he's very demanding, I like that about him, he has a hard nose approach, so we're glad that he's here."

Johnson was particularly impressive the last two years at Memphis, mentoring consensus All-American wide receiver Anthony Miller. Miller went from a walk-on to setting school records with the Tigers and scoring 18 touchdowns in 2017.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Vol Report: Pruitt Raves About Coach Johnson, Welcomes Kamara to Practice

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