Lane Kiffin is very confident that Jeremy Pruitt will get Tennessee back on track

Lane Kiffin is a big fan of Jeremy Pruitt. If you need evidence of that, just keep reading this post. Kiffin appeared on Nashville’s 102.5 The Game on Friday morning to discuss his FAU Owls, along with other college football topics.

Of course, they had to ask Kiffin what he thought about Tennessee latest football hire.

“Jeremy is going to do a great job,” Kiffin told 102.5 The Game. “I would not be shocked if it’s going to be just like Georgia and you’re looking at Tennessee being back in the top ten within two years and making a playoff run.”

Lane is always good for a soundbite, but in this case, Kiffin might just have a little bit of insight for us. He worked with Pruitt at Alabama as the two served side by side as coordinators for the 2016 season.

“Phenomenal recruiter,” Kiffin said. “Arguably the best defensive coordinator in all of college football and a great teacher. You know he was a high school coach, you’ve got to teach guys at that level. You don’t get all five stars. Just being around him — I sat next to him everyday in the staff meetings. He’s extremely intellegient and high school coaches love him, which will go a long ways in recruiting. So Tennessee is going back really soon.”

Everyone in Knoxville if hoping Lane is correct here. It does seem like Phillip Fulmer is following the Georgia plan here. Pruitt is going to be hard-pressed to turn things around as quickly as Kirby Smart did at Georgia, however. I’d guess that Pruitt’s initial talent that he’s inheriting isn’t quite as deep or as plentiful as Kirby’s was when he took the job in Athens.

You can listen to the full interview here.