KNOXVILLE - Perhaps no current University of Tennessee football player has experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of the past three Big Orange seasons more than senior defensive lineman Shy Tuttle.
Crushing losses. Stunning comeback victories. Devastating injuries. A coaching change. Tuttle has dealt with all of them since arriving on campus from Midway, North Carolina, prior to the 2015 season.
But come Saturday, the Volunteers opening his final season in his home state against West Virginia in the Belk College Kickoff inside Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, Tuttle believes he's saved his best year for last.
Why?
"(Jeremy Pruitt's) a proven coach," he said during Monday's team media day. "He's won national championships at different programs."
Some will argue that Pruitt won those titles at both Florida State and Alabama as an assistant. They might similarly argue that while his work as Florida State's defensive coordinator during the Seminoles' 2013 national championship season was nothing short of remarkable, almost anyone could win a ring at Alabama since defense always has been head coach Nick Saban's calling card.
But something Tuttle said that's been echoed by many makes you believe Pruitt really might be the guy to eventually deliver the Vols their first national championship since 1998, though such a title is unlikely to arrive this year.
"Since he's gotten here he's always been the same, he's always been intense," the player said. "We've been working hard all winter, spring and summer for this. We know how hard we've worked, how hard we grind. And when you get the right information from the right coach it helps you play with confidence."
You get the sense that confidence was often lacking during the five cliche-ridden, slogan-driven seasons of Butch Jones. Too many gimmicks. Too few principles. Too many different systems due to too much coaching turnover.
Confidence comes from believing the person in charge knows what he's doing because he's done it to the ultimate level of success previously. Ask anyone who's ever been around Pruitt and you'll be told he knows what he's doing.
"Well, with him, football has always been a part of his life," defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer said earlier this month. "His dad was a longtime high school coach in Alabama and three to four years in Tennessee. His brother also coaches. Every time, whenever we get together or talk on the phone, that's we've always talked about - football. I don't think he's changed any. That's kind of who he is."
So "brick by brick" and "snap and clear" are out. Old-fashioned hard work is in. Finally.
Someone asked Pruitt the keys to victory against the Mountaineers. His answer would have made General Neyland proud.
"We have to take care of the football," he said, all but repeating Neyland's No. 1 maxim: The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
Pruitt then added, "If you look at all the Power Five games last year, probably the two most important stats are turnovers and explosive plays. Offensively, you need to find a way to create explosive plays, and you need to find a way to take care of the football. Defensively, you need to eliminate explosive plays and get turnovers."
Funny, but that sounds remarkably similar to Neyland's No. 2 maxim: Play for and make the breaks, and when one comes your way - SCORE.
You want simple but sound?
Try this from Pruitt on Monday: "When it comes to game week, the most important thing is to do what your players can do. Don't ask them to do something they're not capable of doing. It doesn't matter what we know as coaches. It is going to be important for us to do things that our kids can execute."
No one knows exactly how this will play out against the No. 17 team in the land. Can UT possibly win without the infamous Turnover Trash Can? Can it win without smokey gray uniforms? Can it win strictly on the strength of fundamentally sound football?
Two player quotes from Monday can lift high the Big Orange Nation.;
Said wideout Marquez Callaway: "The way we approach things, I feel like we approach them a lot more seriously (than under Jones)."
Added defensive back Micah Abernathy: "Every week is going to be the same regardless. Consistency is something we pride ourselves on. We're going to practice hard regardless of who we are playing."
It's all words at this point. Nobody has a loss. Nobody has a win, either. But after nine seasons of disappointing results under three other head coaches, the start of the Jeremy Pruitt era feels different. Less fluff. More gruff.
But regardless of how Saturday in Charlotte ends for the Vols, something else Tuttle said will be celebrated from sea to shining sea this weekend.
"College football's back," he said with a smile. "Everyone in America is excited."
Especially down hee-uh in SEC country.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com