Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football.

That's why the Tennessee Vols are always working hard to establish new pipelines.

During the 2020 recruiting cycle, Tennessee was able to land five players from Memphis. Former Vols running backs coach David Johnson, who left this winter for Florida State, opened the door to Memphis.

But even without Johnson around anymore, the door will remain wide open, creating a viable recruiting pipeline for Tennessee.

Now, the Vols are working to establish a new recruiting connection — this time to their east.

The hiring of Jay Graham, a Concord, NC native (which is just outside of Charlotte), should allow Tennessee to start poaching talent from the Tar Heel state on a consistent basis.

Graham has recently been speaking with four-star defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie from Kernersville, NC (about an hour away from Graham's hometown).

Ritzie told VolQuest that during their chats, Graham has been pushing to get him and "other North Carolina prospects" to Knoxville.

The dynamic defensive lineman added "I just think his (Graham) facts are real truthful".

Landing top talent from North Carolina is going to be extremely important for the Vols moving forward. When Tennessee was a force in the mid to late 90's, they had plenty of talent from their eastern neighbor on the roster (Graham, Leonard Little, etc).

During the 2020 recruiting cycle, the Vols didn't sign a single player from North Carolina.

That should change with Graham in the mix now. The Vols are targeting several players from North Carolina (Ritzie, Payton Page, Isaac Washington). I wouldn't be shocked to see Tennessee make a run in North Carolina during the 2021 recruiting cycle like they did in Memphis in 2020.

The recruiting grind never stops. And it's clear the Vols are putting in overtime to bring the best talent possible to Rocky Top.

Featured image via 247Sports