ATLANTA – As Jeremy Pruitt looks back on his two years as the defensive coordinator at Georgia, he does so with a lot of fond memories.

“I really enjoyed my time there. And we enjoyed Athens and really had a close bond with the players there and was wanting to try to finish what we started,” Pruitt said. “But things happen. And it's worked out for both sides.”

Pruitt – who will leave for Knoxville immediately after Monday night’s game for his new gig as head coach at Tennessee - probably won’t get much argument there.

After not being retained by then-new head coach Kirby Smart upon taking the job in December of 2015, Pruitt quickly latched on to become his replacement with the Crimson Tide before the Volunteers tabbed him as their new head coach last month.

Like Smart did before him, Pruitt returned to Tuscaloosa to help the Crimson Tide prepare for their playoff run.

Pruitt admits it’s been a taxing chore.

“To me, it's a little bit of feeling of guilt,” Pruitt said. “You almost feel like I'm sitting here working on this game, should I be doing something about the place I'm about to go, or the fact that I'm trying to recruit for Tennessee or set up or hire somebody, and should I be spending this 45 minutes getting ready to figure out a way to stop Sony (Michel) and Nick (Chubb).”

Right now, stopping Georgia’s offense is Pruitt’s biggest concern, including Jake Fromm, the freshman quarterback of the Bulldogs who Saturday drew considerable praise from the former Georgia defensive coordinator.

What’s been so impressive?

“Well, he's getting the playmakers the ball. They're not having any negative plays. They're not turning the ball over. They're playing really well up front,” Pruitt said. “Jake's done a fantastic job getting them in the right place. And they have playmakers. They're good on the outside. They've got four or five really good tight ends. They've got a really good football team. It’s the best offensive team we've played this year."

High praise, indeed.

While being physical at the line of scrimmage and slowing down Georgia’s running game is Job 1 for the Crimson Tide, Pruitt said that doesn’t mean he considers Fromm an afterthought as far as the Bulldog offense is concerned.

On the contrary.

“Jake has played outstanding this year, taking care of the football. You can tell he's going from run to run. He's making all the checks. And a lot of people take things for granted about quarterbacks, he throws them where they can catch and run with them,” Pruitt said. “Sometimes guys throw it out there and they may catch it, but they can't run with it. He puts the ball on them. Throws the ball on time. Throws them open. But he's had an outstanding season. He's a leader, obviously. But a lot of respect for him.”

Pruitt said the Bulldogs present a totally different challenge than what Clemson did last week in New Orleans at the Sugar Bowl.

“Two totally different offensive football teams. Clemson spreads you out. Georgia is very multiple in formations and personnels. Different -- really different in the run game. More pro-style,” he said. “They present a lot of different, I guess, you would say multiples about what they do with all the wildcats and shifts and motions and not a lot of people do what they do offensively. So, it makes them a tough preparation for us.”

But it also makes it fun.

“I think you'll see two teams that compete really hard that are prepared that are going to play with toughness and going to play together,” Pruitt said. “So, knowing a lot of guys on both teams, knowing all these guys here and most of the guys on the team very high character individuals that are going to do it the right way.”