It took all of two days for a loud theme to emerge as Tennessee opened spring practice.

Don’t ask about last season.

Not to head coach Jeremy Pruitt, who frustratingly quipped, “I’m not going to talk about it anymore” when prompted on what lessons were learned from a 5-7 season in Year 1.

Not to the players either, many of whom were armed with new talking points Friday camouflaged as inspirational posters.

“If you dwell on the past, you’re going to trip over the future,” offensive lineman Ryan Johnson said.

“We have to focus on the present. There’s a lot of lessons and I can’t pinpoint any one of them. … We’re just trying to get bigger, stronger, faster and smarter.”

Sounds like a plan.

It’s all understandable, really. Who would want to rehash a season that went off the rails at the end? Pruitt wasn’t interested in discussing his first season as a head coach a month ago, so nothing’s changed there. The players are just now getting the same questions about a second-straight losing season.

The difficultly is, until they start winning games, the Vols will continue to be peppered with inquires about what’s changed? Why will things be different? Where has the team improved the most?

For the rest of spring practice. At SEC Media Days. During fall camp.

It's clear some things are different already in Year 2, even without getting answers. The team is bigger. The staff is better. The Vols clearly learned lessons from a year ago. They just aren't in a sharing mood right now.

They'd rather just get back to work, and for Tennessee fans, that's probably just fine.

“Once you have a season you really don’t like, you want to get back on the field as soon as possible,” Nigel Warrior said.

Elsewhere, here are three takeaways from Friday’s media availability with various players.

1. The Vols like their new coordinators

Jarrett Guarantano was effusive in his praise for new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, saying the longtime veteran assistant “has a lot more answers” to whatever defenses plan to throw at Tennessee. Guarantano is now on his fourth OC in four years, but the 18-game starter appears confident Chaney will finally be the coach who can tap into his true potential. As expected, the DNA of Tennessee’s offense isn’t going to change from 2018.

Guarantano noted the basic scheme — a pro-style system with spread elements — is similar to Tyson Helton’s in 2018, but the verbiage is different.

More importantly, Chaney’s slight tweaks are those “answers” that Guarantano believes will make Tennessee’s offense more effective. New hot routes, protections and coverage-beaters.

“There’s a lot more control for the quarterback,” Guarantano said.

Similarly, veterans Nigel Warrior and Darrell Taylor were very complimentary of new defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley. The former Oakland Raiders secondary coach will serve as Warrior’s position coach and DC, and the senior safety was glad he’ll be tutored by two guys in Ansley and Pruitt who have a long track-record of getting DBs to the NFL.

“There’s some great minds coming together here,” Warrior said.

This is the last go-round at Tennessee for Warrior and Taylor, and that’s not lost on either guy. Taylor, further discussed below, returned to school in hopes of becoming a more complete player, while Warrior said he’s tired of losing and Ansley saw in “in my eyes I want to get better, so we’ve just got to work.”

2. Taylor flirted with NFL but always planned to return to school

Tennessee’s redshirt senior pass rusher had a pair of three-sack games in 2018, but Taylor never seriously considered leaving for the NFL, he explained Friday.

While the 6-foot-4, 260-pound outside linebacker, who was named a team MVP, submitted his name to the NFL Advisory Committee to get feedback on his draft potential, Taylor always planned to return to school to get his degree in communication and improve his pro stock.

“I new I needed to get better to be NFL-ready,” he said.

Taylor had eight sacks in 2018, the most of any returning player in the SEC. He was dominant at times against Georgia and Kentucky, but too often, he disappeared. With that in mind, Taylor is focused on consistency this offseason, namely working on his ability to “create more havoc.”

3. Warrior aims to improve his communication

The senior safety has flashed at times during his Tennessee career, but an inability to consistently know his responsibilities on the back-end has cost the team dearly on multiple occasions.

With Micah Abernathy out of eligibility, the Vols need Warrior to lead a young secondary. Bryce Thompson, Alontae Taylor and Trevon Flowers all have big potential, but Warrior is the grizzled vet of the unit, and the former blue-chip prospect bluntly noted he must improve his communication this spring.

“As a safety, if I want to go to The League, then I’ve got to have communication skills,” he said.

“I’ve got to take over. I’ve got to let people know. I’ve got to let my box know what’s going on on the field. I feel like that’s my responsibility.”