Tennessee football: 5 needs for Vols to address in 2020 recruiting class

5. Offensive Linemen

Tennessee football scored big on the recruiting trail this past year. Even if you took the worst rankings for their class, they still had one five-star, three four-stars and a three-star. That’s a huge plus, and some of the guys, like Darnell Wright and Wanya Morris, could make an impact immediately.

However, this is always a need. The Vols were so bad on the offensive line last year that they need at least two elite recruiting classes here to get where they need to be. Add in the fact that you always need to rebuild your line and the fact that a guy like Jim Chaney admitted he never feels like he has enough depth up front, and this has to be a big focus once again.

More than that, though, the Vols also lost lots of talent. The transfer of Drew Richmond and retirement of Chance Hall hurt the unit this year anyway. But add in the uncertainty surrounding Trey Smith and the fact that only eight guys are set to be in the rotation past 2020, and Jeremy Pruitt still needs more help.

Ideally, you want 15 offensive linemen on a roster and only need to recruit three to four a year to keep that up. Pruitt and Chaney don’t have that yet, so despite two very good offensive line classes, they’ll need one more before they have it where they want it. As a result, we still have this unit on the list. And it could be on there next year.