As time winds down to the big announcement, many people have been asking the same question.
Where’s David Sanders Jr. going to commit?
As a consensus five-star and Top 6 prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, Sanders comes in as the highest-ranked uncommitted player in On3’s rankings. On3’s industry rankings have Sanders as the No. 2 overall player, the No. 1 offensive tackle, and the No. 1 player from the state of North Carolina.
Sanders’ final group includes Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Georgia, with Josh Heupel and his staff working overdrive to succeed in the pursuit of Sanders. Tennessee has been believed to be in a good position for Sanders over the summer but a new report from On3 Sports on Tuesday has also pushed in that direction.
Chad Simmons, the Director of Recruiting for On3, recently penned his thoughts on each one of Sanders’ finalists as his announcement date on Aug. 17 rapidly approaches.
“Tennessee has been setting the pace in this race for much of the summer since David Sanders, Jr. was there for 865 Live in May,” Simmons wrote on Tuesday. “Ohio State has been a strong contender and Nebraska has worked hard to become a factor late, but the Vols continue to look like they will be tough to beat.”
Simmons goes on to state that there has been “consistent” communication with all three programs but that his sources at Tennessee “feel good” about their positioning for Sanders.
It’s also interesting to note that Georgia is not mentioned anywhere in Simmons’ blurb, suggesting that the Bulldogs might be moving to the outside of the race with just 11 days to go.
Tennessee has done well to get Sanders to campus, with the 865 Live event that Simmons mentioned in addition to a visit to Tennessee in June. Tennessee fans painted up The Rock to welcome Sanders to campus: Welcome Home David #70!
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Sanders’ lone Crystal Ball prediction from 247Sports is pointed to Clemson but came in during the month of March. No analyst or expert has logged a prediction with one of the four finalists as of this publication. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, on the other hand, has Tennessee leading the race at 27.9 percent compared to Ohio State’s 20.6 percent. It’s important to note that predictions are not always a guarantee of what will come.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football recruiting news.