Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers received encouraging 2025 recruiting news on Friday regarding some of their top targets. The Vols are now finalists for David Sanders, Jr. AND Jaime Ffrench.
For the former player, the news isn’t a big deal since the Vols already were. However, Steve Wiltfong of On3 Sports made a prediction that the Vols would get five-star tackle Sanders when he announced his college destination on August 17.
Predictions aren’t always accurate, so they should always be taken with a grain of salt. However, the Vols were able to get Sanders Jr. to campus for a visit in late July, along with fellow 2025 recruits George MacIntyre, Ethan Utley and DaSaahn Brame. MacIntyre has been promoting Heupel so much that he should be on the team.
On the other hand, it’s a big deal and newsworthy that Ffrench listed the Vols as finalists. Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports announced the finalists and Ffrench tweeted the announcement with an emoji, seemingly confirming it.
It goes without saying that Ffrench would be a great addition to Heupel, and given the success the Vols have had with their passing game and wide receivers over the past few years, who’s to say the Vols don’t have a chance with punchers? Would I bet on the field instead of the Vols if you asked me to? Yes. The Vols are still in the game, though, and will put a hat on the table.
We’ll see if Heupel can give Ffrench something to think about before he announces his decision on August 30. If Heupel can sign even one of the two, the Vols’ current top-10 class will get a major boost.
And given the momentum Heupel has built this summer with a number of key additions, it can’t be ruled out that the Vols will send a shockwave through the recruiting world by signing both players in 2025. We’ll know whether Heupel has done just that on August 31st against Chattanooga at the latest.
Let’s go, Vols!
