What Phillip Fulmer expects from Jeremy Pruitt in Year 2 as Tennessee football coach

DESTIN, Fla. — Part of Phillip Fulmer’s spring routine is heading to Haslam Field in the afternoon and taking in Vols football practice.

The product Fulmer witnessed this spring makes Tennessee’s athletic director hopeful for what’s in store for the Vols this season.

“Spring practice was like night and day (compared to last year),” Fulmer said Thursday at the SEC spring meetings during an exclusive interview with the News Sentinel.

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Fulmer hired coach Jeremy Pruitt in December 2017 about a week after taking over as athletic director. Fulmer appreciates the challenge Pruitt encountered in his first season, when the Vols went 5-7.

Now, UT’s AD expects progress.

“I expect us to be better, certainly,” Fulmer said. “And he expects to be better.”

“I do believe that we’ll be better. Would I love to sit here and say, ‘We’re going to win 10 or 11.' Absolutely. I’d love to say that, but that’s up to everything falling right and kids coming through.”

Fulmer’s first 18 months as athletic director have been eventful.

He’s hired a football coach, a volleyball coach, a men’s golf coach and fired and hired a women’s basketball coach. He nearly watched men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes bolt for UCLA but retained him and awarded him with a new contract.

So much of Fulmer's AD legacy, though, will be linked to his first hire and whether Pruitt delivers in elevating Tennessee’s program.

The Vols are coming off their seventh losing season in the past 11 years.

“This program, in my time around it, has never been at this place,” said Fulmer, who was UT’s coach from 1992-2008 after previously serving as an assistant for his alma mater. "I mean, in three out of the (last) five years, we had nobody drafted. At Tennessee? Are you kidding?

“So, it’s getting people in place and developing the young men that are here to compete at the highest level in college football, and that’s in this conference. We have made significant strides in that direction.”

He’s also seen positive strides from Pruitt, particularly in how he’s trusting his staff more entering his second season.

Three of Pruitt’s 10 assistants weren’t on his staff last season. That includes offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley.

Chaney is an SEC veteran in his second stint at Tennessee. He can help put Pruitt at ease with what’s happening on that side of the ball.

Ansley and Pruitt know each other well, with Ansley having worked two stints on staff with Pruitt at Alabama. Pruitt showed his trust in Ansley by putting him in charge of calling UT’s defense, a role Pruitt reserved for himself last season.

“I’ve seen Jeremy grow,” Fulmer said. “He’s still very involved in all phases, but he’s allocated responsibilities and holding people accountable very well. I was super impressed with his gameday management. That’s probably the harder (part of the job), because everything is instantaneous. You can tell he’s got a really good background of handling situations, making decisions quick and those kind of things.”

Blake Toppmeyer covers University of Tennessee football. Email him at blake.toppmeyer@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.