Five-star Tennessee offensive tackle commit David Sanders does not plan to sign on Wednesday, 247sports National College Football Recruit Analyst Tom Loy reported.
Sanders committed to Tennessee over a top group that included Alabama, Ohio State and Nebraska in August and seemed completely locked in to Tennessee for the months following before he showed up at Ohio State two weeks ago to get another look at the Buckeyes for their 38-15 rout of Indiana.
Following the visit, Ohio State had an abundance of momentum and seemed poised to flip the elite offensive tackle. However, Tennessee seemingly stymied those concerns last week and Sanders didn’t take a follow up trip to Columbus for the Michigan game despite Ohio State pushing him too.
And despite Sanders reportedly not signing on Wednesday, there’s still optimism that Tennessee will hold on to its top commit. On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported that the Vols “have nothing to worry about” and Rivals Adam Friedman echoing the same sentiment.
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Sanders ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 5 player nationally according to the 247sports composite rankings. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound prospect ranks as both the top offensive tackle in the country as well as the top player in the start of North Carolina in the 2025 cycle.
Tennessee getting to the finish line and signing Sanders is both a major need for its 2025 recruiting class and for the immediate future of the Vols’ offensive line. Sanders will compete for a starting spot at right tackle as a freshman as the Vols replace John Campbell Jr. and Dayne Davis.
Redshirt freshman Bennett Warren will also be in the thick of that competition and it will be interesting to see whether Tennessee pursues an offensive tackle in the transfer portal later this month.
Tennessee football’s 2025 recruiting class contains commitments from three offensive linemen but Sanders is the only offensive tackle making it all the more important that the Vols held on to land him.
