Pruitt, Vols sound confident at SEC Media Days

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan convened at Radio Row at the Wynfrey Hotel — the classic home of SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. — to break down Tennessee’s annual appearance at the league’s annual mediasplosion.Tuesday’s appearance from second-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt and three player representatives — junior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and senior linebackers Darrell Taylor and Daniel Bituli — showed perhaps a bit more optimism than expected, at least from Pruitt.Pruitt raved about the work ethic of this Tennessee team, saying it’s gotten him as excited as he’s ever been heading into a season with any team he’s coached — and it’s worth nothing that few head coaches, assistant coaches or players have as many national championship rings as Pruitt. Like many Nick Saban proteges, Pruitt is a process-oriented guy, and it seems Tennessee’s players have a much better understanding of that process heading into Year Two of the Pruitt era.Tons of news and notes emerged Tuesday, as well. Updates on Trey Smith’s health, the ongoing NCAA immediate-eligibility waiver requests from Michigan defensive line transfer Aubrey Solomon and Georgia defensive back/athlete transfer Deangelo Gibbs, rumblings from offseason workouts, updates on the competition on both sides of the line of scrimmage and much, much more.Plenty of news and notes emerged from interviews with Guarantano, Taylor and Bituli, and Guarantano in particular was a comfortable, confident young man strolling through the halls of the biggest preseason media gathering in the game. Highlights from extensive interviews with Pruitt and all three of his player representatives are included in this episode.