It took roughly two years for former Tennessee Vols head coach Butch Jones to be outed as a fraud — even if fans/media didn't realize it at the time.

Jones signed the No. 7 recruiting class in the nation in 2014 and the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation in 2015.

But things started crumbling around the time Jones signed that top five class in 2015.

And the first major sign was a transfer that most folks brushed off as a big ole nothing burger.

Wide receiver Vic Wharton, a former four-star recruit, was the first commit to the Vols' 2014 recruiting class. Wharton committed to Tennessee just a few weeks after Jones was introduced as Tennessee's new head coach in late 2012.

The Nashville native instantly became one of UT's best recruiters. He was a key reason the Vols were able to land players like Jalen Hurd and Todd Kelly. Wharton was extremely vocal about his love for the Vols on social media.

When he decided to transfer after one season, it should've been a sign that something wasn't right. Wharton, who is the nephew for former UT basketball player Brandon Wharton, was the guy who helped bring the 2014 class together. And he left just a year after signing his national letter of intent.

Wharton wasn't the first player from the 2014 class to transfer (Dewayne Hendrix, Daniel Helm and D'Andre Payne announced transfers in the the months before Wharton announced his), but he was definitely the most surprising.

At the time, the transfers were rationalized as players seeking playing time elsewhere. Jones was coming off Tennessee's first winning season since 2009, so things seemed to be trending up in Knoxville.

But we eventually found out that things were far from ok on Rocky Top.

In late 2017, a letter from Helm's father was obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel. Helm's father eviscerated Jones.

I made sure we got Daniel out of there before (Butch) Jones put him in a place where Daniel might have knocked him out,” Helm wrote. “Then, my great straight A kid would have an assault charge. If a member of that football team does finally lose it with Jones and an assault charge is filed, we will provide authorities with everything we know as we will not let that man ruin a young kid’s life.

The signs that Jones wasn't a capable head coach were there in early 2015. They were just ignored.

I think everyone — fans and media — learned a lot about college football coaches because of Jones' tenure at Tennessee. We all learned to look for the signs and to be skeptical of early success.

Which is why I understand if some folks are hesitant to go all-in on Jeremy Pruitt's recent recruiting hot streak. Over the last week, the Vols have been the hottest team in the nation on the recruiting trail. Tennessee now has the No. 2 ranked class in the nation.

But this is far different from the recruiting success that Jones had during his first two years at UT.

Pruitt got off to a bit of a slower start in recruiting (Jones' second and third recruiting classes were ranked No. 4 and No. 7, Pruitt's were ranked No. 13 and No. 10). But that's because Pruitt wasn't selling a false bill of goods to recruits to get their signature. Pruitt was doing his recruiting via development/results. Recruits are now clamoring to come to Tennessee because they see that Pruitt is running a legitimate program that can help recruits become better players and reach the NFL.

After two years, the jig was essentially up with Butch (his fourth recruiting class was ranked No. 14, while Pruitt is well on his way to a top five class). After two years with Pruitt, players believe that Tennessee is on the verge of something special.

Butch ran off top recruits and a former Vol assistant (Jay Graham). He also failed to hire Tee Martin after an odd interview and didn't retain offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.

Pruitt, on the other hand, stole one of the best offensive linemen in the SEC from Georgia (Cade Mays) and brought Graham back to Tennessee (along with Tee Martin and Jim Chaney).

Jeremy Pruitt is proving that he has what it takes to make the Vols a contender again. And he's not using words to do it (like Butch attempted to do), he's doing with his actions.

Tennessee isn't Alabama yet. But Pruitt is doing his best to find that same kind of success.

Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports