CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Jeremy Pruitt charged through the tunnel next to the end zone at Bank of America Stadium as kickoff neared.
Tennessee's new football coach beat so many of his players to the Volunteers' sideline that he turned around and hopped back onto the field, high-fiving and chest-bumping members of his team as they entered to a chorus of cheers from tens of thousands of orange-clad fans.
Energy and optimism surrounded the beginning of a new era of Tennessee football Saturday.
Then West Virginia offered a stern, unmistakable reminder of the arduous journey back to prosperity.
Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier kicked off his Heisman Trophy campaign with five touchdown passes, four of them in the second half as West Virginia cruised to a 40-14 victory in the Belk College Kickoff.
"In the second half, the guy made some throws," Pruitt said. "He made some throws, they made some catches, and we've got to find a way to get them out."
Tennessee relied heavily on three true freshmen in the secondary, and Grier made them pay with an aerial assault that truly took flight after a 1-hour, 5-minute halftime weather delay.
The Vols trailed just 13-7 entering the lengthy break, thanks in part to a 17-play touchdown drive of their own in the second quarter. West Virginia received to start the second half and racked up 128 yards in the first seven minutes of the third quarter as Grier picked on freshman defensive backs Trevon Flowers, Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson.
"We played some young guys, and those guys deserved to play," Pruitt said. "They performed the best in fall camp. They done some good things today, but there's lots of lessons they got taught today, too. That's part of football, that's part of growing up. I knew this would happen, but I also know in October they're going to be a lot better."
Tennessee's offense showed signs of life after a dismal 2017 campaign under the previous coaching staff. Redshirt sophomore Jarrett Guarantano started at quarterback and withstood the frustration of a porous offensive line in the first quarter to finish 19-of-25 for 172 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
West Virginia's defense dominated the first quarter, with graduate transfer Kenny Bigelow from Southern California rocking Guarantano as he attempted to throw on the game's first play from scrimmage. The hit caused the football to travel laterally before receiver Josh Palmer recovered what was ruled a backward pass for a loss of 10 yards.
The play set the tone for a series of early offensive woes. The Mountaineers led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, and Tennessee had minus-17 rushing yards on nine carries.
Finally, on their third possession, the Vols got rolling. The 17-play scoring drive came under improbable circumstances after left tackle Trey Smith left the field with a right ankle injury. Redshirt sophomore reserve Nathan Niehaus entered in his place and paired with freshman Jerome Carvin on the left side of the line as it finally found a groove. Smith re-entered later in the game.
With Chandler sidelined by an apparent head injury, sophomore Tim Jordan rattled off seven runs on the series, including a bruising 13-yard carry to West Virginia's 1-yard line.
There, Tennessee's offense stalled on three straight plays.
Pruitt called a timeout, facing fourth-and-goal from the 1. A field goal would have made it a one-possession game, but the first-time head coach made the gutsy call, electing instead to send the offense back to the field.
Guarantano faked a handoff, rolled right and flung a perfect ball to tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson to make the score 10-7.
The junior college transfer tucked the ball safely away for a score but had little to say about the moment afterward.
"I have no feelings towards that because we didn't come out with the 'W,'" Wood-Anderson said.
Tennessee's defense followed by forcing its first three-and-out of the afternoon, but the Vols' momentum was short-lived. A drive stalled, then West Virginia tacked on a field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Then came the Mountaineers' decisive second-half attack.
"So what went from being a very close football game, basically with a little lack of execution and execution on their part, gets out of hand just like that," Pruitt said. "That's what happens when you've got a team that's very well-coached that's a got a good trigger man, knows how to protect and he knows what he's doing with the football."
Tennessee hosts Football Championship Subdivision foe East Tennessee State this coming Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The other four new coaches in the Southeastern Conference began their tenures against FCS foes this weekend.
For Pruitt, there was no easing into things.
The 44-year-old, who has risen from a high school defensive backs coach to major college football coach in 20 years, grasped a lectern with both arms as sweat glistened on his brow just minutes after his head coaching debut ended - an otherwise celebratory occasion mired in the gunk of defeat.
"To me, the most important thing is how your team plays, because how your team plays tells you what kind of coach you are," Pruitt said, tapping his right foot as he reflected on the day. "Their team played better than our team today, and that's on me.
"West Virginia had a fantastic plan and they played the entire game. They played 60 minutes. We played 30."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.