Through two games, Tennessee football has yet to see its coveted five-star freshman offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. in action due to injury. Sanders, listed as the team’s starting right tackle on the depth chart, was a late scratch in the opener against Syracuse and did not give it a go against ETSU.
With the Vols playing Georgia to open up SEC play this week, it means Josh Heupel and UT are required to provide availability reports leading up to game day. On the initial report, Sanders is listed as questionable.
After the ETSU game, Heupel gave the latest update on Sanders’ health to the media.
“Dave, anticipated him being ready,” Heupel said following the win. “Ultimately, medical decided for him, for us, it probably wasn’t the best move to play him today.”
In Heupel’s media availabilities this week, he has referred to the pending Wednesday availability report instead of answering any questions directly.
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So far, without Sanders, Tennessee has opted to go to the same starting offensive line without him. This has featured Jesse Perry at right tackle, Wendell Moe Jr. at right guard, Sam Pendleton at center, Shamurad Umarov at left guard and Lance Heard at left tackle.
Against ETSU, with the score far out of hand, UT shuffled some pieces of the line throughout the game. While Perry got the start and performed well for the second straight week, Brian Grant is listed as the backup behind Sanders and also got some run. If Sanders is unable to play on Saturday, Perry would make the most sense to reprise the position, though.
If Sanders is able to play, it brings up an interesting decision for Heupel and his staff. He can either roll with the line that’s been working to this point against lesser competition or try to insert Sanders for his first career college snaps against a vaunted Georgia defensive line. Or, Heupel could always opt to mix and match and not stick with one unit the entire time.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Georgia is at 3:30 p.m. ET next week at Neyland Stadium. ABC is broadcasting the rivalry matchup. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance at Ayers Hall in the morning, with ‘Checker Neyland’ also in effect.
