Jeremy Pruitt isn’t interested in anyone going home for the summer — “We need to get to work.”

Spring football is done. The summer months are looming, meaning we won’t see much action out of the football program until fall camp opens. That means a break for the players, with an option of going home for a bit before the fall semester.

Jeremy Pruitt isn’t interested in any of that.

“Me personally, when I look at it, I don’t know why you would want to go home,” Pruitt said Tuesday on the Swain Event. “Nothing against going home, but heck we went home during bowl season. We went home during spring break. We’ve had plenty of breaks. We need to go to work.

“I think our guys are excited about getting going this summer.”

Pruitt noted that 55 players were sticking around in Knoxville for the mini-semester, along with a few others who are rehabbing injuries. The 55 players that are staying can go through summer workouts with their teammates.

Tennessee finished the season with a 5-7 mark, stumbling in the final two games against Missouri and Vanderbilt. There was a time where it looked like a bowl bid was possible, if not likely. The Vols pulled the upset over a ranked Kentucky team, putting together a masterful defensive performance. That couldn’t be duplicated over the next two weeks, however.

Blowout losses to Missouri and Vanderbilt kept Tennessee at home during bowl season, costing them a few more weeks of practices — something Jeremy Pruitt desperately wanted to end the year.

With this portion of the year being voluntary, Pruitt would love to see the majority of his roster hang around and go through workouts together. It’s the exact mentality that this program needs as the total culture change continues. For the most part, it looks like Pruitt is getting his wish.