It goes without saying that Tennessee has a long way to go before it can match up with the likes of Alabama and Georgia on the football field but the more work Jeremy Pruitt puts into the program, the more it appears he’s the right man to elevate the program to the lofty standard Vol Nation has come to expect on Rocky Top.

You can count SEC Network host Paul Finebaum among the alums buying into Pruitt and the vision of the program Tennessee’s new coach has for the Vols. During his weekly Monday morning appearance on WJOX 94.5 FM radio program The Roundtable, Finebaum shared his thoughts on Pruitt and the positive outlook he sees in the future of the Tennessee program under the former Alabama assistant coach.

“I really like him a lot… And listen, I’m an adult and it’s not my place to pick on young interns, so I don’t want to trash last year’s coach at Tennessee because I realize he’s trying to work his way back at a lower salary working for the master in Tuscaloosa; but I think Jeremy Pruitt has taken that town and that state by storm,” Finebaum said on the show. “He’s done it by not really doing anything other than his job.

“He’s not a carney barker, he’s not going door to door to try to sell something to someone they don’t want, need or like — Butch Jones did for the last five years. He looks you in the eye, gives you a straight answer and that has resonated very well.”

It’s pretty clear by his comments the SEC Network host had grown tired of the way Butch Jones carried himself and spoke to the media during his time in Knoxville. With the cliches and slogans now gone from Knoxville and the focus of the program’s leader now on teaching, building and recruiting, Finebaum noted the new tone immediately during his recent interview with Pruitt.

“I talked to him the other day, and I don’t think he cracked a smile during the entire interview, but he resonates very well,” Finebaum continued. “Now that’s all good, can he win on the field? I think he can. I think it’s going to be a slow process because Butch Jones, again, not to turn him into a pinata — although it wouldn’t disappoint me if I did — he left that program in a complete mess. He left it in a complete disastrous situation. That will be difficult for Jeremy to get over those bumps.”

Having a powerful voice in the SEC landscape like Finebaum behind you can only help Pruitt as he works to build up Tennessee’s brand once again. Now comes the hard part, taking that support and pushing the UT program back into the upper echelon of the toughest football conference in the nation.