The Tennessee football program is on a mission to build off their 2023-24 season. The Volunteers finished the season with a 9-4 overall record in the ever-competitive SEC. Nevertheless, Tennessee is emphasizing long-term success as well. Not long after their four-star wide receiver steal, the program received a vital recruitment update from five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr.
Sanders committed to the Tennesee football program on Saturday, Hayes Fawcett of On3 reports. Sanders is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound OT from Charlotte, North Carolina who chose the Vols over Ohio State, Nebraska, and Georgia. He is ranked the No. 1 OT in the Class of 2025.
David Sanders J. amassed more than 100 football scholarship offers by his junior year of high, according to his bio at On3. Sanders gave credit to his parent for keeping him grounded throughout the process.
“My parents keep me very humble,” Sanders told the Charlotte Observer. “We try to keep sports talk out of the house because I’ve got three younger sisters, and they don’t to hear about football every two seconds.”
Coaches around the nation have been impressed not only by Sanders' superb skill on the field but by his humility off of it.
“It takes about 15 seconds to watch him do anything, and you go, ‘He’s different,’” Providence Day coach Chad Grier told the Observer. “But what makes him special is how grounded and humble and respectful he is. He’s just a great human. He’s got that million-dollar smile, and he was raised by great parents. He wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. He’s almost too good to be true, and I’ve never been around one like him. I almost don’t want to say it. But I thought he had a chance to be the best prospect I’ve coached, and there’s no question about that now. It’s just about how good can he be?”
Thankfully, the Volunteers won Sanders' favor. It will be interesting to watch his journey in 2025 and beyond.
Can Tennessee football keep up with the growing talent in the SEC?
The Volunteers have two monster programs joining the SEC for the 2024 season. In addition to powerhouses like Alabama and Georgia, Tennessee must now face Texas and Oklahoma. Former Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban made an eye-opening remark on the ex-Big 12 teams' moves.
“I think it’s great for the SEC,” Saban said. “I think it’s great for the fans. One of the things that I really like about the way we’ve expanded our conference is we did not change the geographic footprint for our fans. We have 2 really quality programs and great teams with great fan bases and traditions. But we didn’t really change the footprint of the conference.”
Despite the influx of talent, the Volunteers are doing all they can to remain competitive. Can they overcome the hump and made a deep run by the time winter comes around?
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