There is hardly a sport that is more team-oriented than football, but that doesn’t mean that all positions are created equal. Quarterback is the most important position in all sports. But after the signal caller, the line of scrimmage play is the most important component for winning football games.

That’s why Tennessee football’s recent success in recruiting offensive linemen is so important. That success culminated Saturday afternoon when five-star offensive tackle David Sanders chose Tennessee despite emerging from a top group that included Georgia, Ohio State and Nebraska.

Recruiting offensive linemen has been a major weakness in Josh Heupel’s first few years at Tennessee. The Vols signed just two top-notch offensive linemen in the 2021-2023 recruiting cycle. Of the 10 offensive linemen Tennessee signed in those cycles, only six are still in the Vols’ program, and four of those were in the 2023 recruiting class.

This lack of strong recruiting for the offensive line in Heupel’s first few seasons as head coach is why Tennessee’s roster doesn’t have a single senior offensive lineman that Heupel and his staff signed out of high school. Tennessee has done well to stay afloat on the offensive line thanks to veterans taking advantage of their COVID year of eligibility and adding players in the transfer portal.

But this type of recruiting is just a band-aid and cannot be used long-term to build the depth and consistency a program needs to become elite.

More from RTI: Watch highlights from David Sanders High School

That’s why it’s so important that Heupel, offensive line coach Glen Elarbee and Tennessee have had tremendous success recruiting offensive line players in both the 2024 and 2025 recruiting cycles.

Tennessee signed five offensive linemen in the 2024 recruiting cycle, three of whom are top-tier recruits, and has now signed four offensive line recruits for the 2025 cycle, three of whom are top-tier recruits. After signing just 10 offensive linemen and two top-tier recruits in the 2021-2023 recruiting cycles, Tennessee has added nine offensive linemen and six top-tier recruits in the last two recruiting cycles.

Elarbee, Heupel and Tennessee deserve credit for this run. They recognized a problem, addressed it and are now recruiting the prep ranks at a level that will allow them to build long-term depth and succeed at the line of scrimmage.

That, combined with what Tennessee has done in recruiting quarterbacks and defensive players, is incredibly encouraging for the future of Vol football. The Vols currently recruit quarterbacks like no one else in the country and have recruited defensive players well from the day Heupel stepped foot on campus.

Combine the success Tennessee has consistently had at quarterback and defensive line with its new success on the offensive line, and it’s clear that Heupel’s Vols will be a consistent contender at the top of the Southeastern Conference.