Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer comments on his new role, Pruitt’s progress

It’s a new era of Tennessee football. With that new comes a little bit of the old guard, however. Former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer has been pushed back into the spotlight since taking over as athletics director. The dynamic between himself and Jeremy Pruitt has been interesting to follow to this point.

Fulmer has been heavily involved in the football program, lending a helping hand to Pruitt where he needs one. He appeared on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone on Tuesday afternoon to talk about how things are going.

“I think we learned how to practice this Spring,” Fulmer said. “You’ve got to walk before you can run and by the end of the spring we looked more like a football team should look.”

“(Pruitt) will tell you and I would tell you that we’ve got a long way to go personnel wise. We’ve got some kids here that can play, probably just not enough of them. But we’ve got some kids that if they can stay healthy, we’ll be a team to be reckoned with. Down the road, we’ll put ourselves back in the championship mix. That’s our goal.”

Fulmer also addressed Pruitt’s comments following the Orange and White Game, which called out both players and fans.

“(Pruitt) is calling on everybody — pushing everybody — and I like that. I don’t think there’s a thing wrong with that. He needs everybody. He knows he needs everybody,” Fulmer said.

Fulmer said that he and Pruitt don’t talk x’s and o’s too much, but he did say that they speak about “wants and needs” and “philosophy” on a daily basis. He said that it’s been a football fix for himself.

“I love it,” Fulmer said of assisting Pruitt. “Then I get to go home and don’t have to make 40 recruiting calls.” He may be in a little different role than what he’s used to, but Fulmer’s told 3HL that his main goal remains the unchanged.

“Everyday we wake up and try to figure out how to beat Georgia, Florida and Alabama.”