Former UGA coaches Willie Martinez and John Jancek are back to the recruiting the state of Georgia like the old days.

  Except they’re not courting prospects for the Bulldogs, but for Tennessee.

  Both are members of the new staff put together by Butch Jones at Tennessee, including Jancek as team’s defensive coordinator.

  And because Martinez and Jancek have still carry a respected reputation and have longtime connections in the state, Jones has assigned Georgia as part of their recruiting responsibilities.

  “Well, I think it helps immensely with (two former UGA coaches) recruiting Georgia,” Jones told the AJC. “Obviously, they are familiar with the state and Atlanta. You know, recruiting is about relationships. The thing that excites me, we have great ties and great connections to the area.”

   Martinez and Jancek will also likely have the opportunity to recruit head-to-head against their former employers, UGA.

  Martinez, Tennessee’s defensive backs coach, worked for the Bulldogs from 2001-2009, while Jancek was there from 2005-2009.

  How excited about they going up against UGA? “I think that’s the challenging aspect in recruiting in Atlanta and the state of Georgia, is that you’re competing against not just the University of Georgia, but all the schools. Everyone in the SEC recruits there. Most of the major conferences recruit there because of the amount of talent and high school coaching. You look at the individuals from Georgia who have had great success here, and the proximity to me (in Knoxville), and it’s a no-brainer for us to recruit hard there.”

  Martinez and Jancek will be two of the four Tennessee assistants assigned to Georgia, which has provided a pipeline of talent to Rocky Top over the years. Last month, three members of Tennessee’s 21-man recruiting class were from Georgia.

 Tennessee was able to flip the commitments of Alpharetta QB Josh Dobbs (previously committed to Arizona State) and Lassiter DB Ryan Jenkins (Clemson). Jones raved about Dobbs, who was probably the state’s best 2013 prospect at QB this past season (the best overall was Gainesville record-breaker Deshaun Watson but he was a junior).

  “One of the first things we did was to evaluate our current team,” Jones said. “We had only two quarterbacks on scholarship, and in our program we need at least five. That’s kind of our model. We did a national search and that search led us to Josh Dobbs.

  “You look at him. He’s a 4.0 student and a winner. When we met with him … just the solidness of him, his character, all the quarterback intangibles, and obviously his family … it was a no-brainer for us.”

    “The other thing, when you’re recruiting young men, if there name keeps coming up in conversations with other individuals you’re recruiting, that goes a long way with me. And every recruit we would talk to in the Atlanta area, we’d ask: Who are the best kids the area? Who are some kids you respect going up against? And every single individual would bring up Josh Dobbs.”

  Tennessee also signed Jonesboro DB Cameron Sutton, who got a late offer from Auburn. The Volunteers got beat in a head-to-head battle with UGA for Chamblee DE Davin Bellamy. And probably the state’s biggest surprise on signing day was Ridgeland DB Vonn Bell opting for Ohio State over Tennessee and Alabama.

  Did Jones think he had Bell? “We had a lot of ground to make up with relationships and all of that, so we knew we had a lot of work going into it,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, he choose another school but that’s all recruiting. We’re moving on, and we’re obviously looking for the right fit for the University of Tennessee.

  “The thing is, you try to build relationships in recruiting. I think that’s one of the things that challenged us this past year – not enough time to build ample relationships.

  “But I tell you what. I’m excited about the 21 individuals we signed in this class. They understand the pride, tradition, and expectations associated with our football program here. They also had the confidence in their own abilities and skillset to say ‘You know what? We’re going to get Tennessee football back to its rightful place, and we’re going to be the ones that set the foundation for many years to come.’”

  When Tennessee has fielded its best teams, the Volunteers would often have a lot of key players from Georgia. Jones wants to keep the tradition. Although talent from the state of Tennessee is his No. 1 priority, Georgia is somewhere near the top.

  His sales pitch to the 2014 kids? “I think there are a number of things but my main thing is: Why not Tennessee?

  “There’s only one Tennessee out there. Since 1927, we’re still the all-time winningest football program in the country. You look at all the great traditions associated with our program, the pride and the education that they’re going to get but also to be prepared for the NFL and life after football – everything is here in place have success at a very, very high level.

  “You look at the success of our former players inside and outside of football. They’re doing exceptionally well. We have a program called VFL or ‘Vol For Life.’ To me, it’s the greatest brotherhood in all of sports. I just think it’s the whole gamut. It’s everything.

  “I always tell our recruits and players this: If they come to Tennessee, they’re not getting a 3-5 year commitment. You’re getting a lifetime commitment from this institution and this coaching staff.”