After taking the job, new Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt harped on not paying attention to the players whom he and his staff do not sign, only the ones they do.

But there will always be an element of looking back and analyzing the impact of losing players once committed to Tennessee. And there are more such players than usual this year in the wake of the extended, sometimes bumbling search the Vols engaged in before settling on Pruitt.

The new coach and his staff are already mitigating the damage, with 4-star in-state wide receiver Alontae Taylor recently recommitting after wavering and taking a visit to Georgia.

Some others, however, might be gone for good, and could even wind up at SEC rival schools.

In the 2018 class, here are five decommits that the Vols might miss most if they do indeed wind up elsewhere:

Cade Mays, OT (Knoxville)

Mays decommitted Nov. 7 as the Butch Jones era hit the worst of times. Mays’ dad played at Tennessee under new athletics director Phillip Fulmer, but that may not be enough to close the deal in having Mays commit again to Tennessee. This week, Fulmer visited Mays at his high school alongside Pruitt in an attempt to sway the 5-star lineman to stay home.

But Clemson still appears to be the leader for Mays, and Dabo Swinney visited the offensive lineman on the same day Pruitt and Fulmer met with him.

Jaycee Horn, CB (Alpharetta, GA)

The son of NFL star Joe Horn, 4-star Jaycee Horn moved on from Tennessee in late November. South Carolina is strongly on Horn’s radar now, so he could wind up playing against the Vols every year. Since his decommitment, Horn has received visits from Ole Miss, South Carolina and new Tennessee defensive backs coach Terry Fair on Dec. 12.

Brendon Harris, S (Chattanooga)

A 4-star safety, Brendon Harris decommitted from Tennessee and has been a hard commit to in-state SEC East foe Vanderbilt since Oct. 24.

Jashaun Corbin, RB (Rockledge, FL)

Corbin decommitted from Tennessee way back on May 16 and appears to be a lock to land at Florida State. The 6-foot, 190-pound all-purpose back could do big things under new Seminoles head coach Willie Taggart, leaving Vols fans to wonder what he might have done under retained running backs coach Robert Gillespie at Tennessee.

Trey Dean, S (Hampton, GA)

Dean departed from the Tennessee class on Dec. 7 and could find his way to Alabama to play in Nick Saban’s defensive backfield. Since his decommitment, Dean has visited Florida on Dec. 8 and is scheduled to visit Kentucky today.