Tennessee is continuing to stay in the hunt for one of the top players in the 2025 class.
According to a report from Rivals’ Adam Friedman on Thursday, Tennessee is set to host five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. this weekend for the Vols’ 865 Live event on campus.
Sanders, the highest-ranked uncommitted player left on the board, is ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the nation, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation, and the No. 1 player from the state of North Carolina, according to 247 Composite rankings. Sanders is also considered the 119th highest-ranked all-time player according to 247’s metrics.
Sanders has been on a nationwide tour this spring with visits to Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, South Carolina, Nebraska, Clemson, and Tennessee. Sanders isn’t unfamiliar with Knoxville, though, as a visitor for the Vols’ game against Georgia last November, a visitor for Tennessee’s Orange & White Game on April 6, a visitor on April 13, and a future visitor in the final weekend of May.
Sanders and Tennessee certainly aren’t unfamiliar with each other, either. Tennessee extended Sanders a scholarship all the way back in April 2022 and have made the Charlotte, NC, native a priority ever since.
On Mar. 2, Sanders named a top six of Tennessee, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Ohio State, and Alabama. Since then, Sanders has taken a visit to all six schools – multiple visits to most – with an interesting official visit to Nebraska sandwiched in between on May 10. Sanders has multiple June visits lined up according to 247 including Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio State.
More from RTI: Tennessee Football Lands Top 20 in Post-Spring Analytical Rankings
Georgia currently holds the lead for Sanders’ commitment at 23.7 percent according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine while Clemson holds 247’s lone Crystal Ball prediction for the highly-touted prospect.
The 6-foot-6, 270-pound recruit is a monster on the field using his size, physicality, and power to his advantage.
“An athletic offensive tackle prospect with an extremely high ceiling given measurables and movement patterns,” 247 Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins wrote about Sanders in 2023. “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 and head coach Josh Heupel currently have 10 players committed to their 2025 class, led by five-star quarterback prospect and Elite 11 finalist George MacIntyre. Behind MacIntyre is a trio of four-star prospects with defensive lineman Ethan Utley, tight end Jack Van Dorselaer, and wide receiver Radarious Jackson.
The Vols added their first offensive lineman to the class on Tuesday with a commitment from three-star offensive tackle Antoni Kade Ogumoro from Elgin, Oklahoma. Tennessee’s 2025 class is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation according to 247 but is in a good position with an elite quarterback at the top of the chart.
We’ll just have to wait and see if MacIntyre is jumped by a commitment from David Sanders Jr. down the road. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more.
5-star OT David Sanders will be at Tennessee this weekend for an unofficial visit, per his motherhttps://t.co/YZh1vpJhWH@Rivals @adamgorney @TennesseeRivals
— Adam Friedman (@RivalsFriedman) May 23, 2024
