Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols gained a major recruiting advantage on Friday.

And it had nothing to do with anything that happened in Knoxville this week.

On Friday night, the Chicago Bears selected Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones Jr with the No. 71 overall pick (third round) in the 2022 NFL Draft.

There he goes!@VelusJr is on his way to the Windy City@ChicagoBears #NFLDraft #GBO #DaBears pic.twitter.com/EGV7QtlTFK

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) April 30, 2022

A year ago, Jones wasn't even on the NFL draft radar. That's because his best season through the first five years of his college career was in 2020 when he caught 22 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns.

That stat line obviously isn't going to stand out to an NFL team.

This past season, however, Jones caught 62 passes for 807 yards and seven touchdowns.

The difference for Jones?

The presence of Heupel, an offensive wizard, as the head coach.

Jones almost certainly wouldn't have been a third-round pick without Heupel. If Jones had played another season under Jeremy Pruitt, he'd probably be hoping to sign as an undrafted free agent after the draft.

The fact Jones went from a likely UDFA to a third-round pick after just one season with Heuepl should speak volumes to recruits.

For young players, it's all about getting to the NFL, right? That's the dream.

Heupel showed this past year, via Jones, that he can help young, talented recruits reach their ultimate goal of playing in the NFL.

Jones getting drafted in the third round is absolutely going to help the Volunteers on the recruiting trail. A recruit like five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate has to look at Jones' rapid climb up draft boards and realize that Tennessee is the best place for him if he wants to improve his odds of reaching the NFL.

Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK