For a coach that’s known far more for his coaching and recruiting ability than his media celebrity, Jeremy Pruitt gave a pretty revealing interview this week.

During a Wednesday appearance on Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 radio program 3 Man Front, Tennessee’s head coach answered several questions on the current state of his football program and even revealed some information on the team moving forward as fall camp approaches in Knoxville.

Among the first questions asked of Pruitt was his thoughts on the benefits of having longtime Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer serving as his athletic director on Rocky Top. Pruitt was quick to point out he would lean on Fulmer to help guide him through some of the tough decisions he will inevitably face as he leads the Tennessee program.

“Through his successes here and maybe when things didn’t go exactly the way he wanted, he knows what it took to have success at Tennessee and he knows some of the mistakes that were made along the way,” Pruitt answered. “The one thing he can do is point me in the right direction on some of those decision makings.”

Without making any bold predictions, Tennessee’s first-year has made it clear with some of his actions this offseason he doesn’t believe in rebuilding. Pruitt clearly wants to squeeze every ounce of production from the coming season but will have to do so in the face of a major culture change that’s taking place one day at a time in Knoxville.

Here’s what Pruitt had to say when asked about how he plans to change the culture surrounding Tennessee’s football program.

“It starts with the staff. I think it’s got to be everyone involved, from the strength and conditioning, nutritionist, the player development, the training room, academics,” the Tennessee coach said. “There were probably some things that needed to be tweaked or maybe weren’t exactly the way I envisioned. One thing we have not had to do was change anything with our academic support — our academic support has been phenomenal. I think (strength coach) Craig Fitzgerald has done a really great job in our strength and conditioning. I can see it with our guys, just from January to now.

“But I think everyone has to be on the same page, and we are, so we are excited about the direction we are headed.”

Pruitt was also asked about the role of Jonathan Kongbo moving forward. The former five-star junior college defensive end prospect has yet to live up to his massive recruiting hype but will have one last season to change that narrative at a new position for the Vols.

“This spring he actually played defensive end for us. At that position, he could be a five-technique, a four-wide, a three-technique, a six-technique. And he’s done that at probably between 260 to 270 pounds,” Pruitt commented. “After going thru the spring and kinda seeing where everyone is at, I think we are going to move him to outside linebacker — which isn’t going to change that much. He just wouldn’t be in there playing three-technique on four-line. I think that fits his skill set much better.”

Pruitt also commented on another former five-star prospect during his conversation with 3 Man Front. In regards to offensive lineman Trey Smith, who missed all of spring practice due to an unidentified health issue, Pruitt seemed very optimistic that the rising sophomore would rejoin the team for fall camp.

“We recruited him out of high school (at Alabama), so I was familiar with him there. He was high on our list,” Pruitt continued. “The fact that he played multiple positions as a true freshman, you know and he played it well, says a lot for him. Football is important to him, he’s a smart guy, good competitor. We will be excited to get him out there on the field this fall.”

If Tennessee fans take nothing else from that interview, that final line could be the best news of the offseason for the Volunteers as Smith possess legit All-American talent on the offensive line. For a unit that will likely enter fall camp as one of the biggest question marks on the roster, Smith’s return would be the first step toward turning that question mark into a strength on Pruitt’s first Tennessee team.