Former Marshall Coach Pruett Hired as UVirginia Assistant
posted 11:26 am Fri February 15, 2008 - CHARLESTON, W.Va.
"I realized the good Lord's called me to coach. That's all I've ever done is work with young people," Pruett told The Associated Press on Friday in a telephone interview from his home in Sarasota, Fla. He and Cavaliers head coach Al Groh have been friends since 1970 when Pruett was coaching high school football in northern Virginia and Groh was coach of Virginia's freshman team. Groh was also head coach at Wake Forest when Pruett was an assistant there in the mid-1980s.
"We've remained the closest friends," said Pruett. "For a couple of years now we've been talking extensively about doing this and the opportunity arose."Pruett, 64, succeeds Mike London, who left the Cavs in January to become head coach at the University of Richmond.
Pruett was Marshall's all-time winningest coach. During his nine years there, he compiled a 94-23 record and led the team to a Division I-AA national championship and seven I-A bowl games, five of which the Thundering Herd won.
His star players included quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich and receiver Randy Moss.
Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum, who was hired at Marshall two years before Pruett retired, says he's thrilled that the coach is coming out of retirement.
"I think it's a great hire for the University of Virginia and I'm glad that coach Pruett is wanting to return to college football coaching."
"We all know the contributions he made here at Marshall," he said, "And I think the University of Virginia hired someone who will come in and contribute to the program."
Pruett retired from Marshall in 2005, five years before his contract expired, saying he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren.
He says he'll continue to spend a lot of time with family and that several of his grandchildren live close by in North Carolina.
"My health's good so I think that it's time to get out of the house and get to work," he said.
The Beckley native also was an assistant at Mississippi, Tulane and Florida. In all, he spent 35 years in coaching.
He's headed to Charlottesville, Va., a week from Sunday to begin the next phase of his coaching career.
Pruett says he doesn't have a timeline in mind about how long he'll continue coaching.
"Anytime we've ever done anything, we've done it like that's what we'll do forever," he said. "And the good Lord will lead us in the direction we need to go."
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