Tennessee is continuing to make a strong push for the nation’s top offensive tackle in the 2025 class.
According to a report from On3 Sports’ VP Steve Wiltfong on Thursday, Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel are set to host David Sanders Jr. this weekend. Sanders will also be taking a trip to Nebraska this weekend before his trip to Rocky Top.
Sanders is reportedly set to choose between Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Tennessee on August 17.
Sanders is a consensus five-star prospect and lands as the No. 2 player overall, the No. 1 OT in the class, and the No. 1 player from the state of North Carolina according to 247’s Composite Rankings. Sanders’ ranking of 0.9990 from 247 Sports would make him the second highest-ranked player to commit to Tennessee in the rankings era behind RB Bryce Brown (0.9992) and in front of DB Eric Berry (0.9986).
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound elite recruit has been a frequent visitor to the Tennessee program over the last year. Sanders was in Knoxville for a camp in June 2023 and attended the Georgia game in Neyland Stadium last season. Sanders also visited Tennessee for the Vols’ 865 Live recruiting event in May and took an official visit to Rocky Top on June 14.
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Tennessee has been one of the projected leaders in Sanders’ recruitment for quite some time now as the Vols look to land one of the most highly-touted prospects in the class. In June, Wiltfong stated his belief that Tennessee was one of the three programs “in the best shape” to land Sanders alongside Georgia and Ohio State. While Nebraska does look to potentially be rising up late in the recruiting cycle, Tennessee is still widely believed to be in a strong position for the North Carolina native.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Tennessee the highest chance to land Sanders at 27.1 percent followed by Ohio State at 21.1 percent and Georgia at 14.7 percent. Nebraska, meanwhile, is only at 2.9 percent but could be moving up with a successful visit to Lincoln this weekend.
“An athletic offensive tackle prospect with an extremely high ceiling given measurables and movement patterns,” 247 Director of Scouting Andrew Ivens wrote about Sanders in an evaluation. “Over 6-foot-5 and equipped with arms that stretch over 36 inches. On the lighter side now, but has plenty of time to add mass and has already posted impressive markers in the weight room for a youngster as he can power clean 335 pounds. Very nimble for someone with such long limbs as he can quickly set up for battle and then refortify, if needed.”
Tennessee currently has 18 commitments to their 2025 class, which is good for 10th in the nation according to 247’s team rankings. The Vols’ class is headlined by a pair of offensive players with four-star QB George MacIntyre and four-star OT Douglas Utu. Tennessee is working hard to add in more highly-rated prospects this summer and would see a huge bump up if they are to land Sanders on Aug. 17.
During Sanders’ visit to Tennessee in May for 865 Live, the blue-chip prospect was able to link up with MacIntyre on the field of Neyland Stadium.
Great time to be in Knoxville‼️ What we thinking Rocky Top⁉️ @GeorgeMacIntyr6 @jaimeffrenchjr pic.twitter.com/rRfg1W34PL
— David Sanders Jr. (@DavidLSandersJr) May 25, 2024
