Former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt probably won't be getting any free meals in Knoxville anytime soon.

Pruitt isn't a popular guy among Vols fans after going 16-19 during his three seasons leading the program. The NCAA recruiting investigation, though perhaps misguided, didn't help his reputation, either.

Some recent comments from Vols offensive lineman Cooper Mays, however, might change the way fans view Pruitt.

Mays recently appeared on Dave Hooker's "Off the Hook Sports" show (Mays has appeared weekly this season) and he discussed a variety of topics — including his reasoning for committing to Tennessee in 2019.

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"Pruitt and that whole staff loved me from the second they got to Knoxville," said Mays. "They never wavered. There were some other schools that stopped recruiting me and kind of realized like 'oh shoot, this guy's 285, 290 lbs his senior year, he could play really good ball'. And I think people tried to hop back on the board and try to sway me away."

"I mean, I was 240 my junior year of high school," added Mays. "I was really small. And Pruitt and them never wavered on their support of me. They always recruited me very heavily. And they always believed in me as a player and what I could do. Pruitt told me I could play tight end, I could play fullback, I could play D-tackle, I could play center. They didn't care — they just wanted me to be on their team. They knew I could make an impact. They always believed in me, so that was really big to me."

Without Pruitt, Mays might not end up at Tennessee. And that means his older brother, Cade, likely never transfers from Georgia to UT.

Beyond the fact that Pruitt is one of the main reasons Mays is playing for the Vols, there's also the fact that he always had Cooper's back.

Pruitt wasn't perfect as a head coach — losing to Georgia State is never acceptable at Tennessee. Neither is losing at home to Kentucky.

But there's no denying that Pruitt always cared about his players. It's something we've heard since Pruitt since his days as a defensive coordinator at Georgia and Alabama. He truly cares about the guys he recruits.

Pruitt recruited many of the players on Tennessee's roster this season. His fingerprint is on this team in several ways.

Josh Heupel is the best thing to happen to the Vols in nearly two decades. He's of course the reason this team just had a magical season. But Tennessee fans can recognize the importance of Heupel and also appreciate that Pruitt helped bring a lot of key talent to Knoxville.

Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports