A couple months ago, I wrote how Jeremy Pruitt was letting his offseason moves do the talking.

Tennessee’s head coach has had little interest in any public introspection following his first season with the Vols, but as his own assistants outlined this week — a novelty in and of itself — there’s something different about Pruitt in Year 2.

Coming off a 5-7 season, Pruitt is no longer masquerading as a defensive coordinator who also happens to be the head coach. He finally feels comfortable sitting in the big-boy chair. At least that’s what his cohorts believe.

“I see a star emerging in front of my eyes,” co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Chris Rumph said.

From the guys who know Pruitt best — who’ve worked with him at multiple stops and who’ve seen him rise from hotshot assistant to coveted defensive coordinator to first-time head coach — they’ve seen Tennessee’s head coach truly grow into the role this spring.

The work ethic, passion and long hours are the same. But inside the building, Pruitt's demeanor has changed. There’s an uptick in confidence. He delegates more. Per his assistants, Pruitt has taken the lessons learned from a challenging first season and improved — the very things he’s asking from his own players in his second season.

“Honestly, I see a calmer guy,” Rumph said.

"I know it’s going to sound crazy, but I see a calmer guy. I see a head coach. Sometimes, and this is my opinion, I think sometimes when guys come from coordinator to a head coach, I think they try to do everything.

“They want everything to run the right way. Sometimes they get here to get there and they get spread thin, but I think this year I’ve seen a relaxed (coach). I’ve seen a confidence in his staff. I think I see a confidence in the players.”

I can’t speak to whether or not Pruitt is actually “calmer,” but from afar he has shown a newfound willingness to adapt this offseason. This is the same head coach who told VolQuest just last fall he would call the offensive plays if he could. A year later, he decided what’s best for the future of the program is to empower a veteran coordinator with a CEO role. Pruitt’s fingerprints were everywhere in 2018, but he’s still putting his thumb on the scale by ceding some control in Year 2.

“We all know, listen, it’s never easy being a first-time or first-year head coach, especially at a huge program like this,” quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke said.

“And I think, not to speak for him, but I think he’s learned a lot in his first year, just like we all would. He continues to find ways to make sure that we’re staying on top of our game in all areas, whether it’s schematically, whether it’s recruiting.

“He’s a relentless worker, and I think as he becomes more comfortable as a head coach and spends more time as a head coach, you’ll always learn, and I think he’s done an outstanding job leading this program. Clearly the vision for the future is very bright here at Tennessee.”

Pruitt's vision has never been in question. He saw first-hand how successful programs were built from Nick Saban to Jimbo Fisher and Mark Richt. But Pruitt has displayed subtle changes this far this spring. He's been more open discussing specific players this spring and he's recently relaxed his “one-voice” policy.

It's it a a true evolution? I don't know, but Pruitt has eased his obsessiveness to control every narrative around his program, allowing all of his assistants to speak with the media this week. Last August, we heard from Tyson Helton, Kevin Sherrer and Chris Rumph once and the three coordinators were never seen again.

Tennessee won’t win or lose games because assistants talked to the media, but the positives from their insight far outweigh the negatives. The interactions allow fans to connect with the program more, and just this week, Rumph, Weinke, Tracy Rocker and Tee Martin all showcased strong, engaging personalities while offering up legitimate insight about the team.

“In Year 1, you try to do so much, and you don’t get a chance to see everything,” Rumph said.

“I think you take the offseason and you sit back and you say, ‘OK, where can I improve? Where can the team improve?’ I think when you sit back and you look at it, you have to do a self-check yourself.

“We all do it. I do it. ‘Where was I crappy at?’ Not saying that he was crappy, I’m talking about myself, when you look back and say, ‘OK, where was I crappy at as a coach? How can I get better? Who do I need to talk to help to get better?’ Then you apply it and things happen.”

Perhaps Pruitt truly is growing into his head coaching role.