When Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt brought Brian Niedermeyer with him to Knoxville in late 2017 to serve as UT's tight ends coach, no one expected that the young assistant would become one of the best recruiters in college football.

Pruitt obviously saw something special in Niedermeyer. Handing the Alaska native his first FBS on-field coaching role (in the SEC nonetheless) was a bit of a gamble by Pruitt, but it's clearly paid off.

In 2019, Niedermeyer was named 247Sports' national recruiter of the year.

Not bad for a coach that was a volunteer analyst at Miami just a few years prior.

Now for the good news — the Vols may have another Niedermeyer on their hands.

Earlier this offseason, Pruitt made some coaching staff moves that resulted in Niedermeyer going to the defensive side of the ball to coach linebackers. Pruitt then promoted Joe Osovet, who was working as Tennessee's director of football programing, to an on-field role coaching tight ends.

Osovet came to Tennessee in 2018 after serving as the head coach at ASA college in New York.

The New York native is already making a strong impression on the recruiting trail. Numerous recruits have pointed to their strong relationship with Osovet, who brings plenty of energy, as a reason that Tennessee is high on their list.

2021 Four-star linebacker Greg Penn, who recently included the Vols in his top six schools, told Rivals "Coach Osovet is my guy and when we talk we don’t even talk much about football".

Four-star tight end Hudson Wolfe, one of the top 2021 players in the state of Tennessee, is also a big fan of Osovet, recently telling Rivals he likes the "fiery" personality of the Vols assistant.

Osovet is an important recruiter for Tennessee because he gives the Vols a strong connection in the northeast part of the country.

It's becoming increasingly clear, however, that Osovet isn't just a regional specialist — he has the ability to be an elite recruiter for the Vols on a national scale.

Essentially, Osovet has the potential to become another "closer" for UT (much like Niedermeyer).

Pruitt has built a recruiting monster in Knoxville. I have a feeling Tennessee is on the verge of becoming a program that routinely flirts with a top five recruiting class.

Featured image via Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports/Dan Haralson