HOOVER, Ala. — The reservation was for four.

Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt and his wife, Casey, invited Jarrett Guarantano and his girlfriend to their house for dinner in February. Guarantano left with more than a full belly. Tennessee’s junior quarterback came away with a new outlook on his relationship with his coach.

“That’s really what gave us that jump forward,” Guarantano said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. “That was really, really, really — I was thankful for that moment, to be honest. Ever since then, I think we see eye to eye.”

Pruitt arrived at Tennessee in December 2017 with a bulldog mentality. His task was to change the culture of Vols football, and he deployed an all-business approach.

Building relationships with players, well, that was secondary to the mission. Pruitt admitted that when media days arrived last July, he didn’t know who to select to represent UT because he “didn't know the football team.” Compliments for players were mostly off limits, at least publicly.

Pruitt’s selection of Guarantano to represent UT’s offense this year at SEC Media Days is more than a token reward for a player with 18 career starts. It signals his faith in his quarterback and is another sign of a change in their rapport.

“He’s our quarterback. I believe in Jarrett,” Pruitt said. “Over the last 18 months, I’ve got to know who he is.”

A winter dinner together

Guarantano can’t recall the full menu at the Pruitt household that night. The New Jersey native does know it was Southern fare that “was excellent,” and included blueberry cobbler.

And he won’t soon forget the dinner conversation.

“We needed to enhance our relationship, and I think that we both felt that,” Guarantano said. “That night, it really helped us out a lot.”

Guarantano and his coach discussed football. They talked about life experiences. They rehashed last season.

A third-year starting quarterback and a second-year head coach got on the same page.

“Going back to it, I smile thinking about it because it really was a big step forward for us,” Guarantano said.

Since that night, Guarantano and Pruitt talk more freely. They even have some fun with each other.

Sure, Pruitt gets on his quarterback’s tail from time to time. Guarantano expects that, and now he better understands where Pruitt is coming from.

“I get a better feel of what he’s trying to do with the program now,” Guarantano said. “He looks at me as another coach on the field, and I need to take that role on. He respects me, and I respect him immensely.”

The Jim Chaney effect

Guarantano sees a change in Pruitt beyond their individual relationship. He senses a more laid-back coach who trusts his staff more.

That’s expected. Veteran coaches often say their biggest change from being a rookie head coach to a second-year coach is putting more onus on their staff. Too often, a rookie head coach tries to be omnipotent before realizing one can’t go it alone.

Pruitt showed offseason maturity in how he reconfigured his staff.

He hired Derrick Ansley to be the defensive coordinator. Ansley was Pruitt’s understudy during two different stints at Alabama. Pruitt says one can finish the other’s thoughts, and he’s putting that to work by making Ansley the defensive play-caller. Last season, Pruitt called plays, giving him less freedom for other head coaching tasks.

Tyson Helton had never been a Power 5 offensive coordinator before joining Pruitt’s staff. When Helton left after last season to become Western Kentucky’s coach, Pruitt replaced him with a veteran, Jim Chaney, and gave him real power. He swapped out a defensive assistant for an extra offensive one, meaning Chaney does not double as a position coach. He’s the CEO of the offense.

Before Guarantano flew with Pruitt and two teammates to Hoover for SEC Media Days, he met with Chaney for a film study. They do this often. Third downs were the topic du jour, but they’ve spent the offseason covering a lot of ground, including footwork, presnap reads, offensive protections, formations, coverages, defensive fronts and linebacker positioning.

The film sessions usually last 90 minutes to two hours.

“He’s absolutely thrilled to have (Chaney). He thinks he’s a genius,” said Tony Racioppi, Guarantano’s personal quarterback coach whom he has worked with during the past year at the Manning Passing Academy and offseason trips back to New Jersey.

The impetus behind coordinator-quarterback film study is two-fold.

For one, Chaney made Guarantano feel welcome in the film sessions.

“Coach Chaney is a different guy,” Guarantano said. “He definitely liked the fact that I’m always up there, and he always invites me up there."

Also, when a Vols legend and one of the best to ever play the position tells you to improve your mental game, you best listen.

Peyton Manning told Guarantano after last season he needed to get in the film room and sharpen his mind. The two met during Guarantano’s freshman season and have grown their relationship to where they now talk on the phone every few weeks.

“Peyton has been a real blessing for me,” Guarantano said.

Can Jarrett Guarantano be more than a QB with a big arm?

The annual Manning Passing Academy attracts a who’s who of college quarterbacks. They serve as camp counselors for youth who attend the camp but also work on their own skills.

This year brought together the likes of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Notre Dame’s Ian Book, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Stanford's KJ Costello, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, South Carolina’s Jake Bentley, LSU's Joe Burrow and Missouri’s Kelly Bryant, among others.

Guarantano looked “as good as anybody, if not better,” said Racioppi, who was in his sixth year working the Manning camp.

“He uncorked a post like 65, 67 yards in the air and dropped it in the bucket,” Racioppi said. “He threw the deep comeback effortlessly.”

Racioppi, a longtime high school coach in New Jersey who is now the offensive coordinator at The Hun School of Princeton, has long been aware of Guarantano’s ability, dubbing him “one of the best that’s ever come out of our state.”

No one doubts Guarantano’s arm strength. In the past year, Racioppi and Guarantano worked to transform him from a thrower to a passer who can make the touch throws just as impressively as he throws a downfield ball.

“He throws a gorgeous deep ball,” Racioppi said. “He can throw the ball as hard as anybody, velocity wise. He’s definitely really gained the ability of layering and (throwing with the right tempo) on those second-level throws.”

Guarantano also needs to take fewer hits. As admirable as his willingness to stand in the pocket and absorb a hit is, it resulted in him being knocked out of three games last season.

“That’s another thing I talked to him about. ‘Listen, we don’t have to be Rocky back there. You can get the ball out of your hands quick and make good decisions, and you stay healthy,’ ” Racioppi said.

That’s another area where Chaney can help. His offense puts more responsibility on the quarterback.

As Guarantano puts it, the offense gives him more answers. That includes the freedom to control pass protections, make play adjustments at the line of scrimmage and deploy hot routes — short passing routes designed to avoid blitzing defenders.

“It’s a lot different,” Guarantano said. “I think Coach Chaney really trusts me with the offense.”

So does his head coach.

“He's a guy that I believe in, I have confidence in,” Pruitt said.

Blake Toppmeyer covers University of Tennessee football. Email him at blake.toppmeyer@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.