Trust, personality, and winning.

Those were the factors that helped Tennessee assistant football coach Trooper Taylor become a star recruiter for the signing class of 2005. In his first year for UT, Taylor helped land several top prospects, including three from South Florida.

Taylor's results weren't as good for the class of 2006 as UT's coaches struggled to recruit in the shadow of a 5-6 season.

Taylor may be heating up again as he focuses on some of the top prospects in the nation. This time, one of the fertile areas is in Louisiana where Taylor is working on Luther Davis and Ahmad Paige, considered to be two of the top prospects in the southeast, if not the nation.

Davis, 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end from West Monroe High School, is already sporting 16 scholarship offers. UT, Southern Cal, LSU, Florida State, Miami, and Notre Dame top the list. Paige, a 6-3, 175-pound wide receiver from Sterlington High, has 18 offers and is strongly considering UT, Florida, Florida State, Miami, LSU and USC.

The two best friends plan to announce their decision on Aug. 26 on ESPN. Will they attend the same school?

"It's not definite but it's a very strong possibility," said Davis. "We're also good friends with Joe McKnight."

McKnight is another Taylor target. The 5-11, 180-pound athlete from John Curtis High in River Ridge, La., told the News Sentinel in May that he was considering UT but was leaning towards USC, Notre Dame and LSU.

That brings us back to 2005 when some fans snickered as Taylor dipped into South Florida to land Demetrice Morley, Gerald Williams and Vladimir Richard from the big three Florida schools.

And don't forget Taylor nearly convinced Kenny Phillips, one of the top players in the state, to head north before he eventually signed with Miami.

There's no question that Taylor still has the same personality. Like UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl, the energy is obviously not for show.

Taylor also seems to have his prospects' trust.

"He's upfront," Davis said. "He's not going to beat around the bush. He's a real Southern guy. You can't beat that. If me and Ahmad were to come there, he'd take care of us, making sure we're in class and everything. He's a great guy.

"That's very important. My brother went through the process. A lot of coaches said some things that were basically untrue and he went to a very dishonest program. He talked to me about it all the time."

Davis' brother is Lucas Jackson. He signed with Arkansas in 2002.

Prospects talk to each other far too much to think you can fool class after class for an entire career.

Davis said he also has a strong, trusting relationship with two other college recruiters: Ken Norton from USC and Stacy Searles from LSU.

That would seem to put UT in the hunt. The timing, however, has to scare the Vols. Paige said he is thinking about visiting Knoxville before the August announcement. Davis said he has no intentions to visit any camps.

The third factor in Taylor's 2005 success was winning. UT was coming off a 10-win season when it landed one of the top classes in the country. Now, the Vols are feeling the full recruiting force of 5-6.

The key for UT's coaches is to convince prospects that -- thanks to offseason coaching changes -- a losing season is just a blip on the radar.

"I believe in Tennessee," Davis said. "I think they're going to bounce back. A winning record is good but I don't think it will play a major part in any of the schools I'm thinking about."

Davis maintains he's wide open when it comes to selecting a school. Paige admits that he's leaning toward LSU and Florida State.

"I'm looking for a school that has tradition," Page said, "and a great coaching staff that gets along really well with their players."

The two are extremely exciting prospects. Davis seems to be a prototypical defensive tackle after moving from defensive end late last season. Paige, whose nickname is "Quick Six", said he specializes in big plays.

"The thing that I do the best is my quick strike ability," Paige said. "A lot of times last year we were down and one play turned it around."

Paige could also be influenced by family, many of whom live in Memphis.

"They're Vols all the way," he said.

Recruiting fans may moan if UT doesn't have several more commitments by the time football season begins. After all, a strong foundation can be the key to being able to focus a program's efforts on a handful of key, big-name targets.

This year, however, might be different. Perhaps UT would benefit from proving themselves on the field because winning won't just help Taylor, it will help everyone.