Tennessee's loss to Georgia was devastating.

SEC and national championship hopes are already dashed before the leaves have yet to change. UT's coaches, players and fans are all lamenting the loss, some louder than others.

Last week's official visitors, however, aren't taking it quite so hard.

Prospects rarely place much emphasis on just one game. There is far too much information to allow a loss, or a win, to tip the scale.

A loss on an official visit is just a bump in the recruiting road. Sure, UT's coaches would have preferred a win against Georgia for their visiting prospects, but a win does not an official visit make.

UT is still in good shape with the five prospects who took their official visit last weekend.

Linebacker Joshua Tatum from Oakland, Calif., was one of the small group that took official visits last weekend. He and his fellow official visitors liked what they saw here - despite the loss to the Bulldogs.

Tatum seemed all but committed to UT when he was interviewed earlier in the week.

"It was as close to perfect as it could get," the McClymonds High School star said. "I loved the atmosphere within the team. I loved the fans. The people in Knoxville were very nice. The hospitality was great.

"It has a very family-like atmosphere. The campus is beautiful. It just looks like luxury."

Tatum and his fellow visitors saw Knoxville on a special day. It's impossible to replicate a match up with more tradition and national significance.

Jarrell Miller from Highland Springs, Va., was also impressed with the game day atmosphere.

"I never thought I would see fans that crazy out there," the linebacker from Highland Springs High School said. "Tennessee has crazy fans. These fans would yell and scream until their lungs dropped."

UT has plenty to offer official visitors. The game is just a part of a weekend that includes dinner with coaches, touring campus facilities and a night out with a UT player.

There's also the visit to Neyland Stadium.

"That was the biggest place I've ever seen in my life," Miller said. "I can't describe it. It looked so much like a pro stadium to me."

When the home team loses a game in front of a group of official visitors, college coaches become spin-doctors.

In UT's case, it could be, "Wouldn't you like to be a part of that dominant defense?," or "We could sure use a guy like you on offense."

Just ask Miller.

"It looks like the linebackers can make plays all day, slash here or slash there and get to the ball carrier and make plays," he said. "Right there at that mike linebacker, I'd get in my 2-point stance, read my keys and play sideline to sideline.

"That'd be a great school to play for."

The overall recruiting impact from the Georgia loss is impossible to measure in mid-October.

This much is known. UT has three home games remaining against South Carolina, Memphis and Vanderbilt. No one expects UT fans to be Georgia-like rabid against the bottom half of the schedule.

Still, those will be some of UT's most important recruiting weekends of the season.

If UT loses to Alabama and Notre Dame (they'll be underdogs in both games), home crowds could be sparse.

That doesn't set the best stage for official visitors.

With Alabama on the horizon, UT could use a big win against the Crimson Tide to impress Alabama prospects.

UT's wins on the road have a bigger impact on recruiting than home losses because of their national recruiting approach.

Recent wins in Florida have helped the Vols secure Florida prospects. But has a loss in Knoxville ever cost UT a local prospect?

Sparse crowds and a dozen official visitors just don't seem to go together. UT's recruiting relies on official visits, and 100,000 passionate fans are quite a compelling draw.

In other words, Tennessee's program needs a win almost as much as the team.

Dave Hooker covers recruiting. He may be reached at hookerd@knews.com.