The most over-analyzed, not to mention discussed at nauseam, topic of the offseason has been all the talk regarding satellite camps. Often lost in the discussion of Jim Harbaugh and Michigan touring the nation (and now the world) for football talent is the fact former Vanderbilt coach James Franklin has been doing the same thing since he arrived at Penn State.

Last time I checked, the Nittany Lions roster isn’t full of elite prospects from the South – They signed six prospect from the South since 2013, including a punter from Georgia in 2016 and a JUCO prospect from Mississippi in 2014.

Instead of hitting the road and camping at a high school, Tennessee has wisely flipped the process and is hosting high school teams for practice/scrimmages in the Anderson Training Center. This accomplishes two things, gets elite high school talent on campus and gives them a first-hand taste of the facilities the school has to offer.

Friday night, the Vols hosted nearby Knoxville Catholic and Nashville-area Murfreesboro Oakland for a practice, which brought a number of high-profile prospects to Tennessee’s doorstep.

Prominent Knoxville Catholic players include 2018 offensive lineman and Tennessee commit Cade Mays, ranked as a four-star prospect and a Top 30 player nationally by 247Sports:

Circle of life:)handing out L's pic.twitter.com/WMOUfuVrDU — Cade Mays (@_mayc2) May 14, 2016

2017 four-star receiver and Clemson commit Amari Rodgers – the son of former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin:

https://twitter.com/arodgers_3/status/731307932906881025

Oakland has its fair share of talent as well, including 2017 five-star athlete JaCoby Stevens, ranked as a Top 20 overall prospect and the No. 1 athlete in the nation by 247Sports. Despite being considered a heavy lean to Georgia, Stevens showed Tennessee some love during the practice Friday:

Vols' target @jacobystevens7 with the orange gloves as Oakland & Catholic get set 2 scrimmage in UT's indoor complex pic.twitter.com/2A1C0DyqS0 — Daryl Hobby (@WVLTdaryl) May 13, 2016

These practices not only bring talent to Tennessee’s campus, but it allows them to participate against one another in a highly competitive arena and gives them a window into what it could be like to practice against their fellow prospects for the next three to four years in the same complex.

“I had an idea (things would be intense) the first time hitting another team,” JaCoby Stevens said to WVLT-TV in Knoxville. “We had the emotions going on.”

Next week Tennessee plans to host yet another practice, this time Oak Ridge High School will be coming in to the facility with 2017 five-star receiver Tee Higgins. Higgins of course was once committed to the Vols but has since backed off that commitment to further explore his recruiting options.

With all the talk of coaches hitting the road and exploring far and wide for the best prospects around the world, for many schools in the SEC – and particularly for Tennessee with so many local prospects worth pursuing – it makes far too much sense to host as many of these practices as they can and bring prospects to them. The facilities on Rocky Top are among the school’s best selling points and now will be used more than ever to pitch to recruits the Vols’ efforts to continue to haul in the best recruiting classes possible.