David Sanders Jr.’s college debut will have to wait at least another week. The five-star freshman offensive tackle was reported to likely miss the game earlier on Friday, and during the official availability report on game day, the status was confirmed. He went from ‘questionable’ to ‘out’ on the report due to injury.
What’s holding Sanders back from getting on the field is a shoulder injury that has lingered to this point. After the win against ETSU last Saturday, Josh Heupel gave an update on his status.
“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.”
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Sanders is listed on the depth chart as a starter at right tackle, but hasn’t been able to play a snap to this point. Instead, 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. With Sanders unable to play on Saturday, Perry would make the most sense to reprise the position, though.
The next chance for Sanders to get on the field will be next Saturday when Tennessee hosts UAB. If he’s healthy enough to go, it could work as a chance for him to get his feet wet before possibly being plugged in for the remainder of SEC play.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Georgia is at 3:30 p.m. ET 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.
