Unpacking NCAA's verdict on Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt — and why Vols can finally move on
Jeremy Pruitt is banished from college football for the foreseeable future and Tennessee football avoided a dreaded bowl ban, and now it's time to move on from the NCAA recruiting scandal.
But before we do, let's take a look at the winners and losers in the scandal that's hung over the Volunteers since recruiting violations were revealed by university leaders when they fired Pruitt in January 2021.
Here are five takeaways from the NCAA decision made public Friday.
Tennessee played ball with NCAA and won
Considering this high-profile case could’ve set back UT football for a decade, the real MVPs for the Vols were in boardrooms instead of on the field.
You already know about some of the work done by Chancellor Donde Plowman, whose office received the initial tip of violations almost three years ago. She reported it to the NCAA, hired a high-powered law firm for an independent investigation, cleaned house in the football program and cooperated fully with the NCAA. UT even turned over evidence of violations to the NCAA that the governing body had not and may never have discovered on its own.
And athletics director Danny White, who was hired to clean up the football program, was an important public face of UT’s efforts to turn things around with his focus on reinvigorating the university's competitive stature and its fan experience. His willingness to come to Knoxville just three days after Plowman fired Pruitt spoke to his confidence in the future, and White's hiring of Heupel has been validated on the football field.
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But you’re probably not as aware of figures like UT chief of staff Matthew Scoggins, deputy athletics director Cameron Walker, general counsel Ryan Stinnett and others who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get UT a manageable outcome.
UT avoided a postseason ban, self-imposed penalties and absorbed a palatable punishment with a savvy strategy. University leaders did it with novel approaches to working with the NCAA's enforcement arm, often against the advice of those outside the university who were used to handling it the way it's always been done.
The strategy worked with the NCAA and the Vols came out better for it.
Jeremy Pruitt is done coaching in college for a while
Pruitt can still coach, but he can’t coach here – in college, that is.
Despite being a respected defensive coach, Pruitt couldn’t get a job in college during the investigation. Now that he’s gotten a show-cause order, he’s even less attractive for jobs. A show-cause order means a university cannot hire a coach or recruiter without being subjected to penalties during the length of the ban unless the NCAA signs off. Pruitt's show-cause includes a 100% suspension for the first year of employment should an NCAA school hire in him in any athletics position.
Pruitt declined comment to a Knox News interview request when reached by phone.
[ Tennessee beat writer Adam Sparks and Knox News are leading the conversation on the Vols' NCAA violations case under Jeremy Pruitt. Sign up for Sparks' text group today to get exclusive access to his reporting ]
Pruitt could coach in the NFL. He did that in a small capacity for one season after UT fired him. He could also return to high school coaching, where he first made a name for himself.
Lately, Pruitt has earned an income with a side gig after opening his own small freight company. And he’s done a little work breaking down film for coaching buddies.
But coaching is in his blood and he’s a phenomenal defensive coach, so he’ll eventually be back on the sidelines somewhere. At the college level, that won’t be anytime soon after the NCAA found more than 200 rules violations by at least a dozen stuff members that went unreported in a two-year period.
Josh Heupel can get over that speed bump
For the past two seasons, Josh Heupel has called the NCAA investigation a “speed bump.”
That was always a positive spin for describing the burden of self-imposing scholarship cuts and recruiting required for violations that occurred under Pruitt.
UT must cut 28 scholarships over the next five years, but it’s already self-imposed 16 of those. And it’s already absorbed many of the recruiting restrictions in the NCAA probation that ends in 2028.
Dealing with the remaining sanctions won’t be easy. But Heupel has succeeded beyond anyone’s imagination with similar restrictions. He recruited a top-10 class and went 11-2 with an Orange Bowl win last season.
And now Heupel – and his recruiters – doesn’t have to deal with the uncertainty that surround the program for the past two seasons.
Tennessee is Show-Cause U
Bruce Pearl, Donnie Tyndall and now Pruitt. The Vols have racked up show-cause penalties like few schools in college sports.
Maybe UT deserves it for breaking rules above and beyond the competition. Maybe the NCAA targets UT more than others.
Either way, UT has a long list of former coaches and staff with show-cause orders.
Tyndall, the former UT basketball coach, got a 10-year show-cause. Pearl, another former basketball coach, got a three-year show-cause.
And Pruitt and his staff racked up an mind-boggling 39 years of show-cause penalties.
With five years of probation thanks to Pruitt, the Vols have no wiggle room moving forward.
Vols will be eligible for 2024 playoff and beyond
There was a fear that a postseason ban would keep Joe Milton and the 2023 team from an encore of last season’s Orange Bowl win. But the 2024 team actually was in jeopardy.
If the NCAA had banned UT from bowls, the university would’ve appealed the decision. That process would’ve extended into next year. And if upheld, it would’ve kept 5-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava and company out of the postseason.
The College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams in 2024, which means the SEC could put three or four teams in each year. UT wants a shot at the bracket, and now it's up to the football team and not NCAA enforcement.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: NCAA's verdict on Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt: Why Vols can finally move on
