Josh Heupel flips top in-state 2026 OT from SEC rival in Tennessee recruiting coup

Offensive tackle has been a major priority for Josh Heupel on the recruiting trail, especially with No. 1 overall quarterback Faizon Brandon heading to Knoxville as the headliner of the Volunteers’ 2026 recruiting class, and the fifth-year head coach just added another. 

On Thursday, not even two months after four-star offensive tackle Kamari Blair committed to South Carolina, Tennessee flipped the Clarksville native. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound tackle is a top 10 in-state recruit for the Vols and the fifth of the top 10 to commit to the program. The flip is a major win for Heupel and his staff, and provides significant depth at a position of need. 

The Volunteers continue to build wisely around five-star QB Faizon Brandon

Tennessee has done a good job recruiting the offensive tackle position, but the Vols have been rather top-heavy in the last two classes. 2025 five-star David Sanders Jr. is the likely starter at right tackle this season, opposite junior and former LSU transfer Lance Heard, and 2026 four-star Gabriel Osenda could be in the mix for significant playing time on the offensive line next year. 

However, despite his recruiting success, Heupel had to dip back into the Transfer Portal this offseason to land both of his starting guards, Sam Pendleton and Wendell Moe Jr. 

With a robust NIL collective, Tennessee has been willing to outspend most other programs in the SEC and the country, but now that revenue-sharing has come into effect, every program has some money to spend and the talent in the transfer portal will continue to dry up, especially along the offensive line, where there simply aren’t enough good players to go around.

So, high school recruiting is becoming even more important in the trenches. Blair is now the fourth offensive line commit in Tennessee’s 2026 class, joining Osenda, who is a five-star and the No. 19 overall player in the country according to 247Sports, but is a composite four-star, J.B. Shabazz, and Edward Baker. 

The addition of Blair also inches Tennessee closer to a top 10 class in the country, and softens the blow of missing out on five-star running back Savion Hiter on Tuesday. The No. 2 running back in the country vaulted the Wolverines into the national top 10 over the Vols with his decision. 

Hiter would have been a major addition alongside Brandon, but he’s not the most important offensive player that Tennessee intended to pair with its top QB. That would be five-star WR and LSU commit Tristen Keys, who has been angling toward a flip to the Vols for much of the summer. The flip of Blair could help build additional momentum with Keys.