One key staple of Stanford football’s success from 2009 on has been its stellar offensive line play. Nicknamed the Tunnel Workers Union, Stanford has delighted in running power and sending eight or nine O-linemen on the field for short-yardage scenarios.

Naturally, the Cardinal have placed a heavy emphasis on big uglies on the recruiting scene and made national noise with a stellar 2012 class that featured featured five-star recruit and No. 4 offensive tackle Kyle Murphy, No. 9 offensive tackle Andrus Peat and No. 3 offensive guard Joshua Garnett. All three of those guys are now in the NFL.

As good as that class was, Stanford’s 2017 offensive line recruits have a chance to be even better, as the Cardinal signed the top two offensive linemen in the country according to Scout in tackles Foster Sarell and Walker Little, both of whom are top-5 overall recruits.

The 6’7’’, 315-pound Sarell is the No. 2 overall recruit in the country and hails from Graham, Washington, the same area that produced Garnett and former Card/current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman David DeCastro. Listed at 6’7’’ and 310 pounds, Little is the No. 4-ranked recruit in the nation and has a grandfather and uncle who played in the NFL.

Those two will help protect 2017 signee Davis Mills, the No. 1 quarterback and No. 6 overall recruit. They’ll also get to open up running lanes for Connor Wedington, the best snowboarder in college football. Not a bad haul for David Shaw, who has himself another top-25 class at the moment despite a smaller-than-usual recruiting batch.