Tennessee football, Jeremy Pruitt shouldn't feel sorry for Missouri, Barry Odom

Someone needs to remind Barry Odom where he’s working. He apparently has forgotten he’s coaching football in the SEC.

Odom has been doing it long enough to know what that entails. You’re swimming with sharks, not goldfish.

And at the first hint of vulnerability, your competition will respond with savage quickness.

Missouri has become the league’s most vulnerable member since the NCAA slapped it with what seemed like an excessive penalty given the nature of its violations. However, if you’re looking for the NCAA to be fair or consistent, you’re in fantasy land.

You’re also in fantasy land if you think fellow SEC members will be sympathetic to your problems.

As part of Missouri’s probation sentence, the rising senior members of its football team are now eligible to transfer elsewhere and gain immediate eligibility. Odom isn’t thrilled about that, of course. He’s even less thrilled about his SEC partners pursuing his players.

He singled out Tennessee recently for trying to recruit Missouri seniors.

“Who’d we beat 51-17 this year?” he told CBSSports.com. “Tennessee? Yeah, those guys.

“They are non-stop reaching out daily (saying), ‘Hey, come here.’ ”

And what should they be doing? Sending sympathy cards to Columbia, Missouri?

Suppose that after news of Missouri’s probation sentence broke, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt assembled his staff, called for a moment of silence on the Tigers’ behalf and advised his assistants that Missouri players were off-limits as potential transfers. Imagine Pruitt emphasizing, “We don’t want to take advantage of a fellow SEC program’s misfortune.”

Taking advantage of other programs’ misfortune is what the SEC is all about. Pruitt might have just completed his first season as a head coach, but he has coached in the league long enough to understand what’s required.

What’s not required: Feeling sorry for the competition.

Pruitt and his staff should take a road trip to Missouri en masse. They should put up billboards with the message: “Tennessee needs Tigers.” Establish a Missouri wing of the football complex. Paint it black and gold.

Why? Because Missouri has better players than Tennessee. You only need to check recent scores for evidence. The Tigers didn’t score 100 points in the past two games against UT with inferior players.

Don’t just check the scores. Check the standings. Tennessee has been last in the SEC East the past two seasons. It really does need Tigers.

Signing Missouri’s senior offensive linemen alone would be a huge upgrade for Tennessee. Missouri’s senior defenders could help, too.

So my advice to the Vols: Keep pursuing Missouri players with a vengeance. And if you land one, send Odom a thank-you note.

Maybe that common courtesy from another SEC program would make him feel better about the loss.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

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