Tennessee football made a major splash on the recruiting trail on Saturday afternoon when five-star offensive tackle David Sanders committed to the Vols over Georgia, Ohio State and Nebraska.
The Charlotte native is the top player in the state of North Carolina, the top offensive tackle and the No. 3 overall player in the 2025 recruiting cycle according to 247sports.
Landing Sanders was a major coup for Josh Heupel and his staff but success on the recruiting trail in the state of North Carolina is nothing new. Tennessee keeps having a ton of success recruiting the state that it shares its eastern border with.
The Vols have landed five highly touted players in the state of North Carolina starting with the 2022 recruiting class all the way to the 2026 recruiting class.
It started in 2022 when Tennessee landed James Pearce Jr. who was the No. 6 player in the Tar Heel State according to 247sports. Tennessee’s success continued into the 2023 recruiting class when they landed defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs, the top player in the state, as well as Nathan Leacock— the No. 3 player in the state.
The Vols didn’t land any players in North Carolina in the 2024 recruiting class before picking back up in the 2025 class with Sanders. Heupel and his staff are already ahead of the curve in the 2026 recruiting cycle having already landed quarterback Faizon Brandon— the top player in the state of North Carolina.
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From the 2022-2026 recruiting classes, Tennessee has landed the top player in the state three of the five times. That’s a major win for the Vols and significant because of the importance of the state of North Carolina to Tennessee football.
“It is important for us. It’s a border state,” Heupel said of North Carolina. “We believe, look at it, view it as a part of our footprint. We’re intentional in how we recruit that state. You look at our early signing classes, a guy like James Pearce that has come into this program grown and really develop himself as a player and as a person. Obviously the opportunity, or where he is projected.
“The state of North Carolina is really important to us and that’s how we recruit it. The opportunity that we have in week two to be over there in front of them playing inside of that state is a real unique opportunity for us as a program as well.”
Even with the improvement of high school talent inside the state of Tennessee in recent years, the Vols’ ability to recruit both regionally and nationally is incredibly integral to their success. When Tennessee has been at its best, they’ve recruited the Carolinas very well.
During Tennessee’s recent struggles they’ve been unsuccessful recruiting North Carolina due in part to the success of Clemson’s program. But with Clemson starting to slip, there’s an opportunity for Tennessee to cement its footing inside the Tar Heel State. They’re fully taking advantage.
