A reader emailed saying it’s an exciting time for Tennessee sports fans. He explained:
- Rick Barnes had great success with basketball transfers.
- Tony Vitello’s team won the College World Series. Omaha! Omaha!
- Tennessee had the best overall athletic program in the Southeastern Conference.
- Dr. Danny stole from Pilot.
- Josh Heupel was able to secure the recruiting commitment of the best high school offensive tackle in the country.
- Nico and the volunteers are undefeated.
- Happy days mean everyone gets a raise – which means more happy days.
The reader-author has left me speechless. Big bills are coming due. Pay raises cost money. I will recover from the shock in time.
That didn’t last long. In fact, Rick did a good job and Tony raised the bar and both got their full pay plus bonus. Point 3 was good, even if the track wasn’t that great.
I’m officially skipping point 4. No comment.
David Sanders, 6-6, 290 pounds and still growing, has chosen to play college football at Tennessee. When it comes to talent assessment, he has a higher rating than Nico. Believe the numbers or not. Last November, he had 106 college scholarship offers. Offensive tackles and QBs are very valuable.
So how big is David Sanders’ commitment? Definitely extra-big and perhaps even monumental.
David is a true student-athlete at Providence Day School in Charlotte, annual tuition $32,000 and a bit. He says it’s worth the money.
Tennessee has been there before. Vol basketball star Grant Williams is a former student. He says what Providence says: that the school fosters a passion for learning, a strong sense of social responsibility and a commitment to personal integrity.
Grant Williams and David Sanders know each other, of course. In the beginning, David wanted to be a great basketball player. He first visited Tennessee when he was in eighth grade. Grant is back in Charlotte with the NBA team. He knows a lot about a lot of things and is still very enthusiastic about UT.
The Sanders recruitment was complex. Many people from Tennessee were involved. David visited five times this year. George MacIntyre, the Vols’ quarterback for 2025, made a point of being there.
George and David met several times last year on various recruiting trips and at training camps. They became friends. For personal and team reasons, the quarterback naturally wanted the tackle to join him. Mission accomplished.
Sanders says Heupel, line coach Glen Elarbee and senior offensive analyst Max Thurmond have had a big influence.
David’s parents had heard a lot about Heupel and were looking for validation. David asked a lot of questions. The current Vols told him that the coach was authentic, that he didn’t change from day to day, but always had the same practical approach. The family culture was genuine.
Sanders concluded: “His players love him.”
The visitor watched Elarbee at work during spring training. He noticed how different he is on the field and in the classroom: intense on the turf, technical but patient, even quiet when teaching. David thought that might be important for a rookie.
Thurmond, 46, a former player and coach at Jacksonville State, is a great relationship builder for the Vols.
“Max, this is my husband,” Sanders said. “He was the best recruiter for me. Probably one of the best recruiters in the country.”
David said he appreciated the way Coach Thurmond treated the Sanders family. And why not?
Tennessee had another plus point. Sanders knows quarterback Faizon Brandon from Grimsley High in Greensboro, North Carolina. Faizon, the No. 1 player in the country at what he does, recently committed to the Vols’ class of 2026.
And one more thing: Sanders researched the development of Vol offensive tackle Darnell Wright. God, Elarbee and the Chicago Bears made him a multimillionaire with the number 10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
It all adds up. Ohio State, Nebraska, Georgia, and a hundred others who came in from far away couldn’t win. They wasted postage and phone charges.
Interesting side note to point 6. Undefeated Nico Iamaleava, James Pearce, Cooper Mays, Bru McCoy, Omari Thomas and the ambitious Volunteers will be in Charlotte on September 7 to play North Carolina State. Do you think the match was arranged for Sanders’ convenience?
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is [email protected]
