Pruitt talks running backs, updates status of Ty Chandler

Ty Chandler’s debut in Tyson Helton’s offense was over before it began. After handling the ball on multiple botched plays, Chandler took a hit to the head, which ended his day in Charlotte. Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt told reporters on Monday that Chandler “got his bell rung.”

Chandler is officially listed with a head injury and Pruitt described his status as “day-to-day.” He said he was unsure if Chandler would be able to play on Saturday against ETSU.

Tennessee took a minor hit to their running back depth on Tuesday with the departure of sophomore Trey Coleman. Coleman appeared to be the odd man out of the rotation, slotting in somewhere behind Chandler, Tim Jordan and Madre London. Jeremy Banks may now become a bigger part of the picture, along with Princeton Fant.

Fant worked with the running backs during the spring, swapping back and forth between his traditional tight end position. Following Coleman’s departure, Fant was once again working with the backs during practice on Tuesday.

With Fant working with your running backs, Tennessee will be able to go five deep at the position once Chandler returns. Games against ETSU and UTEP make sense to get guys like Banks and Fant some game experience, just in case. After that, this schedule gets hot and heavy quick with Florida, Georgia, Auburn and Alabama up next.