After putting together a strong debut season, Tennessee star freshman offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. was named to ESPN’s Top 25 College Football Freshmen list. The rookie from Charlotte, NC, was tagged as the 24th-best freshman in the college football season by ESPN’s Billy Tucker.
Sanders comes in as the eighth highest-ranked SEC player on the list, behind multiple players from Alabama and Georgia, and one selection from Texas and Oklahoma.
“After a shoulder injury delayed the start of his season, Sanders settled in as Tennessee’s full-time starter at right tackle during the second half of the year and, outside of a tough outing against Oklahoma, flourished in pass protection,” Tucker wrote. “He has plenty of work to do in the run game as he learns to play with more power, but Sanders’ athletic markers show on tape even as a freshman against SEC edge defenders, and Tennessee’s coaching staff was quite impressed with his coachability and maturity despite getting a late jump on the season.”
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After garnering quite a bit of hype throughout the summer and the preseason, Sanders made his collegiate debut on the road against Mississippi State after nursing that shoulder injury to full health. He didn’t play much, but he did fill in for Jesse Perry during the Vols’ game-tying drive in Starkville. From there, his rookie season was off and running.
Sanders earned some play time off the bench in games and Arkansas and Alabama before making his first career start at right tackle on the road against Kentucky. He did not give up his starting spot for the remainder of the season.
According to PFF, Sanders played 425 snaps this season and accumulated a strong 67.2 overall grade. In pass blocking, he was given a 73.6 mark and as a run blocker, he was at 63.5. He was penalized just twice.
With former Tennessee left tackle Lance Heard transferring to Kentucky, the expectation is that Sanders will move to the left side of the line to fill Heard’s spot at the more important LT position. We’ll have to wait and see what UT does during spring ball, but the Vols have the ability to slide Jesse Perry to the starting right tackle position, which is where he was while Sanders was sidelined in early 2025.
Check out ESPN’s full Top 25 Freshmen list here.
