Tony Vitello discusses NIL, how it impacts offseason roster decisions

When it comes to the recruiting trail, Tony Vitello obviously wants to get the best players available. But the Tennessee coach knows there’s more to the recruiting process than just selling the program.

NIL has become a key component across the college athletics landscape, and Vitello has seen both sides of the spectrum. Although Tennessee has had some top talent commit — remember, Reggie Crawford committed to the Vols before becoming a first-round pick — Vitello said he doesn’t expect to land a big name if they only care about making NIL money.

That said, Vitello noted there’s plenty of room to improve in that space considering how competitive the SEC is.

“I can now speak on Reggie Crawford. He was probably the No. 1 guy last summer and he was a first-rounder,” Vitello said on 99.1 The Sports Animal this week. “He sat my office and said, ‘Coach, don’t even worry about talking about it. If I wanted money, I’ll sign in the draft.’ Which, of course, he did on us because he is a first rounder. Hard to say no to that.

“For our guys that we bring in, if it’s the No. 1 category, we’re just not going to get them. And I’m not trying to tell you where the moral compass [points]. We certainly have as good of a fan base as anybody. We can fit 105,000 in one stadium. Could we get better in that area for our kids? I’m willing to bet. It’s like any situation. It’s [the] SEC. And if you can compete, then you probably need to keep doing better or you’ll get eaten up by the sharks.”

In addition, as rumors and reports swirl, Vitello urged fans to be careful of what they hear in that regard. He also noted the “in-your-face” nature of the landscape, but reiterated NIL isn’t a big part of his recruiting plan.

“A lot of the stuff you see out there, you’ve got to be careful what you read,” Vitello said. “There’s a lot of things that are dramatized or maybe numbers kind of added on or fibbed on and things like that. So it’s a hot topic. One we could talk about for a long time.

“We’re not necessarily going to make it a priority for us to win those battles in order to get recruits. But I do know that stuff goes on and it’s kind of shocking how in-your-face it is, for brevity sake maybe the easiest way to say it … with some other recruiting situations.”