Josh Heupel’s first Signing Day was a success. The Vols signed each of the 17 commits entering the day and added a trio of four-stars in the process at positions of need.

Tennessee sits at No. 11 nationally and fifth in the Southeastern Conference following day two of the early period. The Vols are done for now, but additions via the transfer portal are certain.

How many will Heupel add? Well, that depends on the numbers – but UT plans to be active once again, just as it was last offseason.

Now, what must improve moving forward? The answer doesn’t require much thought as recruiting the state of Tennessee must improve as the 2022 signing class brought in just two from the Volunteer State, Cam Miller and Elijah Herring.

That in-state class featured one five-star and 12 four-stars, as well as eight players inside the Rivals Top-250. Tennessee was in on several, but for various reasons, the prospects chose to go elsewhere.

“I think in this recruiting cycle in particular, that was maybe the biggest hurdle for us to overcome, “Heupel said on Wednesday. “I say that meaning that the players inside of the state heard all of the noise for the two and a half months before I got here, and all the noise previously as well.

“We had a short amount of time to get to spend a bunch of time with them. (Due to) COVID, didn't have them on campus. So, in some ways, I think it was harder in-state than maybe out-of-state this year a little bit."

Tennessee certainly had success beyond its borders for the 2022 cycle, specifically in Georgia where the Big Orange reeled in seven players, four of which who ranked inside the state’s top-50. Yes, recruiting success in Georgia is always great, but you can’t allow Ohio State, Kentucky, Texas A&M and others pick off your communities either.

Heupel knows that.

“Some of those things don't happen overnight. Our entire staff, from me on down, has placed great importance on recruiting in-state the right way,” the coach said. “That means spending time getting to know coaches and people that are influential here inside of the state, taking phone calls from VFLs that watch a guy on Friday night and like what they see.”

The in-state victories of this class are good ones. Miller is a dynamic player out of Memphis Academy and has a chance to play different roles in this offensive system. Herring was a big-get out of the Midstate and a prospect the coaching staff fell in love with following a private workout in June.

But the addition of the Riverdale linebacker meant even more for the staff as Herring got the ball rolling.

“"Elijah was hugely important to me and to our staff for a lot of different reasons. We really believe in who he is as a player and as a person,” Heupel said. “We think he's got an extremely bright future here at Tennessee as a football player.

“His ability to see through the weeds and trust us early in the process, being an in-state kid and how much it meant to him to wear the Power T, was hugely important as we kicked off this recruiting cycle, as far as getting kids to buy in and ultimately commit to us. Him being the first guy was hugely important to us."

Herring is an undervalued prospect and one who can add immediate depth to a position of need. His younger brother, Caleb Herring, is also one of the top-prospects in the country for the 2023 class and the leader in the state of Tennessee.

So, was this high school portion of the recruiting class a success? I’d say yes, it was. Should in-state recruiting drastically improve moving forward? It better. But Heupel knows that and is already months involved with the classes of 2023 and 2024.

“You've had those kids to campus. You've had them to games,” Heupel said about the underclassmen in Tennessee. “That's what's unique about college football today versus what it was 20 years ago. You're recruiting multiple classes at a time. Those players are guys that we've had on the phone during each week during the course of the season. You're going to continue to recruit those guys.

“Those are guys that we were still reaching out to today.”

HERE is the list of Tennessee’s top-prospects for the Class of 2023, with some priorities below.