What coach Jeremy Pruitt said after Tennessee’s spring scrimmage

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jeremy Pruitt led Tennessee through its first spring scrimmage on Saturday.

The first-year head coach talked with the media following the scrimmage.

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Here is a roundup of the notes from Pruitt’s press conference:

• Opening statement: We didn’t have the best weather today. The field drains well so that was a positive for us. We had between 100-120 snaps. One thing that jumps out to me is we have to be a better tackling team. Not a lot of turnovers which is good for the offense. We need to be opportunistic.
• On running backs: To me, the most important thing is if you have the ball at the end of the play. Our guys didn’t go down on the first contact.
• On tackling issues: You’ve got to understand how you’re attacking the ball. The easiest thing if you want to be a great tackling thing is you have to have your feet in the right spot.
• On quarterbacks: The quarterback position is unique. It involves everyone. It’s different the way that position is. I’ll have to watch the tape to get an idea about how the guys played. There weren’t a lot of turnovers, so that’s good.
• On getting people lined up: Way too many penalties on both sides. We’ve got to improve there. There weren’t a lot towards the beginning.
• On position groups that stood out: No.
• On early enrollees: It’s been something new. All of these guys have adapted and are learning. Usually, the guys that come in early they put themselves in a position to play in the fall. Sometimes they don’t. I’ve seen it both ways.
• On bad body language: I’ve been coaching a long time. Sometimes you have a team with great leaders on it. I’ve coached on teams where there is one leader. I’ve coached on teams where there are multiple leaders. I’ve coached teams where the coaching staff are the leaders. We’ve got figure out what kind of team we got.
• On positives: That we got to go outside. The weather didn’t look too great last night. After eight practices, this was a test. I was glad we were able to go outside.
• On play calling: I didn’t call any plays on either side of the ball. I think our guys kept it simple. This was about who our best players are. It wasn’t about who knows most of the playbook.