Tennessee head coach Butch Jones met with Knoxville media on Wednesday.

Besides previewing Tennessee’s game at Missouri on Saturday, Jones also explained the process of recruiting prospective athletes to reporters.

The Volunteers’ 2018 class took a major hit on Tuesday when 5-star offensive tackle Cade Mays — a Knoxville native — decommitted from the program.

As would be expected, Jones had to address the recruiting situation. He was asked if it was hard to keep a player committed for two or three years, particularly when the season isn’t going well.

“Recruiting, in general, is a great challenge. It’s forged by relationships over time,” Jones said. “It’s in flux every single minute, every single hour, every single day in the world we live in. You have to rely on your relationships and the good things going on. We have a ton of good things going on in our program.

“Sometimes, as a young man, you have to look into a crystal ball, and you don’t look at the immediate,” Jones added. “You look at the near future and say ‘Ok, the program is here. What is my opportunity over the next four or five years? Where do I see the program going?’ Each individual has a different set of circumstances they’re looking for.

“You look at Trey Smith … He wanted that challenge of helping us get Tennessee Football back to a very high level … At the end of the day, recruiting is forged on relationships over time, it’s ongoing and it’s ever-developing. That’s not just Tennessee. It’s every program.”