The signing of No. 1 offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. was a long-awaited and highly anticipated decision. The five-star recruit in the Class of 2025 announced his decision on Saturday afternoon.
Sanders will join the Tennessee Volunteers after his final season of high school football. He committed to the Volunteers and played against the Ohio State Buckeyes, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Georgia Bulldogs.
BREAKING NEWS: Five-Star Plus+ OT David Sanders Jr. has committed to Tennessee, he tells me @on3recruits
The 6’6 290 OT from Charlotte, NC chose the Vols over Ohio State, Nebraska and Georgia
Ranked #1 OT in Class 25 🍊https://t.co/YaztIGz5OL pic.twitter.com/wVsfeSsL6M
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) 17 August 2024
Before the decision and official announcement, it was predicted that Sanders would choose Tennessee. Anna Adams made her Crystal Ball prediction on August 10 on 247 Sports.
Sanders is now the first five-star prospect to commit to Tennessee in the 2025 recruiting class. Prior to his announcement, head coach Josh Heupel’s program had 21 commitments and was ranked as the No. 8 overall class on 247 Sports. On3 ranked his class No. 9 nationally.
After a strong push by the Buckeyes that ultimately failed, Ohio State must regroup and find a solution for the offensive line.
For the 2025 class, the team has commitments from four-star tackle Carter Lowe of Toledo and three-star offensive lineman Jake Cook of Westerville. Two players don’t seem like enough for a team that is on the verge of losing numerous players to the draft and graduation.
How will Ryan Day, Justin Frye and the rest of the coaching staff approach the next steps to secure additional support for the offensive line?
Maybe they could try to get a player or two to move this cycle. The most important thing might be to aggressively attack the transfer portal when it opens after this season.
