If you missed the news Wednesday, Tennessee managed to reach into LSU’s program and steal arguably the nation’s best behind the scenes recruiter in GM Austin Thomas. A Tennessee native and graduate, Thomas is viewed by many in the industry as the architect of LSU’s recruiting machine in recent seasons.

Related Link: Who is Austin Thomas? Everything you need to know about Jeremy Pruitt’s most important hire.

For those among Vol Nation still waiting to judge the young assistant, you don’t need to look much further than the work Thomas has managed to do for Tennessee after being on the job for only 24 hours. With LSU tight on scholarships, the Vols have managed to secure an official visit from Louisiana’s No. 1-rated tight end Glenn Beal. Wouldn’t you know it, Beal just so happens to be on LSU’s radar.

Now, a week after committing to LSU, Tennessee has secured an official visit from the nation’s No. 1 junior college offensive tackle Badara Traore. The 6-foot-8, 315-pound lineman ranks as the No. 6 JUCO prospect in the nation according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Traore won’t be making the trip to Knoxville alone, as his teammates, Jeremy Webb (nation’s No. 2 JUCO CB) and Johncarlo Valentin (nation’s No. 2 JUCO offensive guard), are also scheduled to visit Tennessee this weekend. The timing of the visits is crucial, as the recruiting dead period begins Sunday, meaning no prospects can visit college campus after this weekend and the early signing day begins Wednesday.

Also of note regarding the trip, Webb turned down an opportunity to visit Florida this weekend in favor of making the trip to Knoxville.

It’s also worth mentioning that since Traore committed to LSU last week, the Tigers offensive line coach Jeff Grimes left the program for BYU. Could that play into his decision? That will be something to watch as the talented JUCO lineman is scheduled to take advantage of the early signing day and sign next week.

Considering he’s using his final visit to Knoxville before making a final decision, with two of his current teammates no less, that has to be a good sign for the Vols.