Whenever a new head coach takes over a program and tries to rebuild it from the ground up, there are always things working against him. That was no different for Tennessee football when Jeremy Pruitt took over in 2018.
It always makes things harder when injuries hit, but hey, they are part of the game. So when Trey Smith, who was out of contact drills during Pruitt’s first offseason due to blood clots, had them return in the fall, it was just a stroke of bad luck.
Sure, when the injury comes at the expense of the one good player on your weakest unit as you’re trying to rebuild a team, it’s a bit more bad luck than usual.