There's been a lot of talk lately about NIL deals and their impact on the Tennessee Vols' recruiting efforts.

Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, for example, allegedly received an $8 million NIL deal to commit to Tennessee. Iamaleava's deal hasn't been confirmed by him, Tennessee, or anyone in the media.

If the Vols are utilizing NIL deals to help with recruiting, then it's a smart move by the program. College programs that don't utilize NIL deals will almost certainly be left behind in recruiting.

Winning recruiting battles, however, isn't just about NIL deals. At some point, the money is all the same. And the battle has to be won via relationships — the way that recruiting battles were intended to be won.

Josh Heupel and his staff understand that as well as anyone. That's why they've made building relationships a major part of their recruiting strategy.

And it's not just the coaches' relationships with the recruits — Heupel is working hard to make sure the recruits build relationships with each other.

Tennessee is essentially trying to achieve two things — creating a strong culture with their recruits before they ever sign to play at UT and making sure recruits build a strong relationship with each other so they'll all want to play together in Knoxville.

When Heupel first arrived at Tennessee, he organized some fun team activities — such as dodgeball — to help bring the team together. He's doing the same thing on the recruiting trail.

Three-star running back DeSean Bishop, a Knoxville native, visited Tennessee recently and spoke to VolQuest about his experience. Bishop pointed out that building a bond with other recruits was one of the best parts of the weekend.

“Probably one of the funnest things was the scavenger hunt," said Bishop. "That was really fun, just getting to go around with some of the other recruits and be able to build a bond with them too. I just enjoyed my time there, it was a lot of fun."

Vols true freshman Jourdan Thomas, a 2022 signee, spoke about those relationships as well during a recent interview with VolQuest.

“I’ve built a lot of great relationships with my teammates already," said Thomas. "Our goal is to win a natty. We are shifting the culture here at Tennessee. We were at a pivotal point back in the day and that’s coming back."

“Coach Heupel, what he’s doing, he’s grabbing a lot of people’s attention," added Thomas. "The recruits too. I’m so excited for the future.”

Heupel is all about the details. He isn't aimlessly trying to rebuild Tennessee into a national powerhouse — Heupel has a plan and he's sticking to it.

It's been a long time since the Vols have had this kind of competency leading the football program. It's only a matter of time before Heupel turns the Vols into one of the most feared teams in the nation.

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