When Josh Heupel landed the Tennessee job, the biggest criticism detractors had was that he couldn't recruit at a high enough level to win in the SEC.

Entering his fourth season with the Vols, Heupel has quickly dispelled this.

Past major recruiting wins include five-stars Nico Iamaleava and Mike Matthews who are already on the roster. Heupel also holds verbal commitments from five-star linemen David Sanders Jr. and Douglas Utu in the 2025 class and five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon in 2026.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

While he's torn up the recruiting trail over the last couple of months, Heupel believes the success dates back long before that. There's a groundwork that needs to be laid that Heupel and his staff have put in place.

"Tennessee’s unique in all the states that touch it, how close in proximity it is to so many great players," Heupel said. "North, south, east and west. I think the success in recruiting for us isn’t something that just happens in the last six weeks. I think that there’s so much hard work that goes into it from your staff, from your players here on campus when the recruits come to campus. At this point in our tenure, having long standing relationships with coaches. People have their feet on the ground, the recruits themselves, their families, us being able to recruit to the culture that we’ve built here. The success that we’ve had on the field. Who we are and how we live out every single day. All those things parlay itself into the success that we’ve had on the recruiting trail here in particular here over the last month and a half. So for us as a program, we've got to keep taking steps forward but we got elite players with physical traits that have high character and that allows us to continue to recruit the right type of person and player to this program."

What is the right person for Tennessee's program, though?

Heupel made sure to note there is a specific type of recruit that he targets. This isn't just as a player but also off the field.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee football QB commit Faizon Brandon bumped up into 5-star rating

"Smart, tough, relentless competitors that love football, care about the people around them," Heupel said. "Want to be great as a man, not just as a player, and are gonna go chase it every day."

While Tennessee has had success landing in-state talent, it's success out of state has been impressive, as well. The neighboring states such as Georgia and North Carolina have helped, but he's extended his reach across the country with Iamaleava coming from California and Utu residing in Nevada.

There are plenty of aspects the play into why he's been able to convince athletes to attend college far from home at Tennessee. The logistics of getting them to campus in the first place can be tough but once they're in Knoxville, its the atmosphere around the program that helps.

"Time on task," Heupel said. "That’s with coaches. It is people that come into contact with some of these players. It is trainers, for example. It’s being able to get them here to campus, then having an opportunity to see what Rocky Top looks like. The stadium, visuals of game day experiences, them being here for game day. And, ultimately, it’s the culture. It comes down to your players in your locker room being able to be real with them about what it’s like to live out and be a player here day in and day out. And then you look at the success on the field, the growth, the development of players as a man and as a player where they have an opportunity to go fulfill their dreams."

Currently, Tennessee owns the No. 7 class in the country for 2025. The following year, 2026, is still early in the process but the Vols are knocking on the door of a top 10 class there, as well.

This isn't a case of simply quanity, either. Heupel has brought in a good number of recruits every year, but the quality is also there. He has snagged at least one five-star in every class from 2023-2026 since first getting to campus with the 2022 class on deck.

Tennessee's strong recruiting efforts don't seem to be going anywhere and another successful season on the field could only make things begin to roll even harder.

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