It doesn’t erase the fact that Tennessee didn’t reach the SEC championship game.

It doesn’t undo any of those four losses.

But landing the commitment of ESPN No. 1-ranked prospect Trey Smith on Tuesday gave Tennessee coach Butch Jones some much-needed good news in the perception department.

He’d be wise to shout it from Rocky Top right now. While it doesn’t count as a win in the standings, Jones can at least claim to have beaten out Alabama and Ohio State in something related to football, keeping Smith in state at Tennessee.

The logic goes that you can build a program around a franchise offensive tackle. For Jones, the hope is that Smith gives him a cornerstone on the field and a pivotal talking point off of it as he navigates an offseason that’s sure to be filled with questions of his being on the hot seat.

With Josh Dobbs set to graduate, Jalen Hurd in transfer limbo and Alvin Kamara reportedly headed to the NFL, getting Smith on board is a nice place to start retooling the offense. At 6-foot-6 and a hair shy of 300 pounds, he already has the size to play in the SEC. In fact, he’s an inch taller and a few pounds heavier than Jonah Williams, who has been a standout right tackle for No. 1 Alabama all season.

The SEC has always been a line-of-scrimmage league, and for all the talk about Tennessee’s skill players the past few years, improving up front on offense might be the quickest way into the championship conversation.

While the majority of this season’s starters on the offensive line are expected to return next year, Jones can’t afford anything less than significant improvement. Despite his speed, Dobbs was sacked the third-most times in the SEC in 2016 (25). Putting that kind of stress on whoever replaces him could spell disaster.

Whether Smith is the answer right away remains to be seen. But as ESPN’s No. 1-ranked prospect, the pressure to play right away is going to be something he and the staff must deal with.

Tennessee is in win-now mode.

Jones had already claimed the so-called “Championship of Life.”

With Smith in tow and a few months remaining until signing day, maybe the Vols can break into the upper echelon of the class rankings and tout a “Championship of the Offseason” as well.

But now it’s time to start working on an SEC or national championship for Tennessee.

Those can’t be won with words or on the recruiting trail. They’re earned.