The Tennessee Vols, like the rest of the college football world, are focusing most of their time this week on recruiting.

Tennessee has the upcoming TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to prepare for, but the early signing period, which begins on December 18, is a bit more important to UT's coaching staff right now.

After all, recruiting is the lifeblood of college football.

The Vols' staff has been all over the place since the conclusion of the 2019 regular season. They've been working hard to win over uncommitted recruits and to flip recruits who are committed elsewhere.

Tennessee has also been checking in on recruits who are already committed to UT. Even the ones who are "solid" in their commitment.

Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt and offensive line coach Will Friend recently spent some time with three-star offensive lineman Javontez Spraggins, a 6-foot-3/320 lb recruit from East St Louis, IL who is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 688 overall recruit in the nation.

Spraggins committed to Tennessee during the summer. The Illinois native told Rivals that he's solid in his commitment to UT and that other schools haven't been contacting him much lately because they know he's determined to be a Vol.

Despite the fact that Tennessee has Spraggins wrapped up, Pruitt and Friend still spent a considerable amount of time with him this week.

Spraggins told Rivals "spending all that time with me, it really makes me realize how much they value recruiting and the guys they want to bring in".

The three-star offensive lineman mentioned that Friend also stopped by to see him last week.

It says a lot about Pruitt and his staff that they're taking time out of their schedule during an extremely busy part of the year to visit with a three-star recruit who doesn't appear to be wavering on his commitment.

Pruitt and Friend could've easily decided it was more beneficial to spend their time on "more important" uncommitted recruits. They could've simply picked up the phone and made a call. But instead they took the time to show Spraggins and his family how much they care about him as a player and as a person.

In a world where recruiting stars equal wins, Pruitt and his staff are showing they care more about the player than their recruiting ranking.

That's not typical in college football.

While Pruitt is visiting with a lower ranked recruit, his counterparts in the SEC are pulling offers simply because they showed interest in another school.

Pruitt and his staff are unique. They genuinely care about players. That's not something that can be faked.

And it's going to help Tennessee land a top 10-15 2020 recruiting class.

Featured image via Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports/247Sports