Jeremy Pruitt once quipped that if he couldn’t call the defensive plays, he’d be looking for another job.

“If I can't call the plays, I'm going to quit coaching,” Tennessee head coach told Volquest back in the summer of 2018. “I would like to call the offense to if I could,” he later added.

Some two offseason later, Pruitt no longer makes the primary calls for the Vols’ defense and as the coronavirus pandemic continues to envelop the country, his main focus now has almost nothing to do with Xs and Os.

“Right now, to me, football’s an afterthought,” Tennessee’s head coach said Monday.

“We’re not concerned about that. We’re worried about our young men’s safety, their family’s safety and helping them manage to get through this.”

In an appearance on ‘Vol Calls,’ the third-year head coach hit all the right notes Monday night as the world deals with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. While many view Pruitt has a brash, good ol’ Southern boy who eats, sleeps and dreams about football, Tennessee’s head coach has displayed a softer side throughout this entire situation — both publicly and privately. Make no mistake, Pruitt still wants to win every game on the schedule next season — whenever that is — but he’s made it clear his focus right now is all about caring for his players and their families.

“The first thing is, is we’re just worried about players, their safety, their family’s safety,” he said.

“Today was the first day going back to school, so the guys got back to taking classes online, which was something new, but it’s something they’re adapting to. We’re just taking it as it comes.

“The first priority for us is to protect themselves. There’s plenty of time for us to get back workout and do football. Right now, we need to follow directions from people in the government, people at the university and that’s something that we’ve really tried to help our guys understand and follow the guidelines.”

Monday was the first new day of a new reality for Pruitt, his staff and his players. Campus is closed. The athletic facilities have been shuttered.

After a week of spring break, most of the team is now back home, while the staff is staying away from the office as part of the practice of social distancing. Coaches and players are in constant contact with Zoom meetings and FaceTime, but the challenges — both academically and athletically — are real.

Pruitt is not so concerned about any setbacks in the strength and conditioning program, one that just saw it’s coordinator Craig Fitzgerald leave for the New York Giants last week. Instead, with no Thornton Center access, Pruitt and his staff are making sure the players stay academically eligible.

“We had an excellent plan for moving forward. Craig and his staff put together a month’s routine of what the players would do away from Knoxville. Once Craig decided to move on, we’ve really leaned on the guys on this staff to continue to work and execute the plan for these guys,” Pruitt explained.

“The real priority is helping the guys get back to going to school and helping them that standpoint. We’ve got guys all over the country, and (we’re) making sure that they have the proper resources to be able to handle their online schooling.”

Pruitt made it clear Tennessee is still actively recruiting during the COVID-19 shutdown — “If you’re not recruiting everyday, somebody else is.” — but his genuine focus on safety is an admirable and noteworthy sentiment during a time when many — in the sports world and otherwise — have their priorities focused elsewhere.