One of the most daunting tasks for new head coaches at any level is getting players bought into, and able to execute the new schemes being brought in. As tall of an order as it seems like a lot of times, it's also equally as exciting.
Jeremy Pruitt was asked how he's approaching those changes as a first-time head coach with his new Tennessee squad, and while he expressed confidence in the teaching progression that he believes in, and that his staff has been using, he also gave a ton of credit to high school coaches.
"I think the best teachers in the game are high school football coaches," Pruitt told reporters earlier this week.
"When you go out there, and you teach a young man how to put on a uniform, how to put on a helmet, how to snap their shoulder pads, how to put pads in his pants, how to get in a stance, how to tackle somebody for the first time. There's a lot that goes into that."
Pruitt then goes on to explain how he's constantly trying to teach everything from basketball, to baseball, to golf to his own kids, who are three and almost one, respectfully.
But football is different, Pruitt explained.
"With football, you don't really do that. Football is a developmental game. Some of the best players didn't start playing until late in their high school career. Some guys start at the age of four, and some guys don't start until they're a senior in high school."
"So you're going to get better at it the longer you do it, and it takes a lot of people to give you the right picture, so to speak. You're not going to learn to play linebacker unless you've got someone running the ball over there and you're taking on a block and all that. So it's hard to put that all together when you're seven and eight years old."
Hear more from Pruitt in the video.