ESPN identifies primary challenge that five-star OT David Sanders, Jr. will have at Tennessee right out of the gate
Josh Heupel landed one of the biggest fish in the 2025 recruiting class in consensus five-star offensive tackle David Sanders, Jr. out of Concord, NC. Sanders won't have to wait long to see the field in Knoxville, as he's projected to start for the Vols at tackle from the jump. Naturally, there will be some […]
Josh Heupel landed one of the biggest fish in the 2025 recruiting class in consensus five-star offensive tackle David Sanders, Jr. out of Concord, NC. Sanders won't have to wait long to see the field in Knoxville, as he's projected to start for the Vols at tackle from the jump.
Naturally, there will be some growing pains, even if small, with Sanders, just as there are with any freshman cutting their teeth at the college level. Speaking of growing, ESPN's Tom Luginbill and Craig Haubert identified the primary challenge that Sanders will face going into his first season: size.
Here's what Luginbill and Haubert had to say about Sanders:
Elite offensive line prospects Ja'Wuan James (2010), Trey Smith (2017) and Darnell Wright (2019) all signed with the Volunteers in the ESPN 300 era. Sanders is the next in that mold. A tackle with nice blend of height and length, he was a two-way player in high school and possesses excellent body quickness and flexibility.
Sanders' biggest initial hurdle could be his size. While listed at 290 pounds, he has a leaner build and will benefit from adding more mass. Still, he's a tenacious blocker, and he's also already on campus working with an offensive line unit that loses four starters.
They're not wrong about Sanders' size – at least as far as where he was in high school and where was at coming to Knoxville. Sanders is pretty long and lean, and at 290, sure, he could benefit from adding some weight.
The thing is, he's got time to fill out his frame more. Plenty of time, actually. That's the world of players entering college in the spring semester rather than over the summer. They get that extra semester of hands on work with the strength & conditioning and nutrition departments to get to where the coaching staff wants them to be.
As such, in addition to getting up to speed on the playbook and the college game itself on the field, they get that advantage of getting physically ready as well.
Will there be defensive ends further along in their physical development than Sanders? Obviously. However, he will still be better suited for taking on the challenge out of the gate as a true freshman starter than many would have been in a previous era.
We'll get a first look at Sanders in orange when the Vols suit up for the Orange and White game on Saturday, April 12.
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