One bright spot for the Tennessee Vols in their loss to Alabama was the play of an important true freshman
Not a lot went right for the Tennessee Vols in their 37-20 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide this past weekend. But the play of a key true freshman was a bright spot for the Volunteers.
Not much went right for the Tennessee Vols in their 37-20 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide this past weekend.
Tennessee had opportunities to make the game against Alabama more competitive, but the Vols squandered numerous chances due to dropped passes, ill-timed penalties, poor tackling, lapses in defensive coverage, and a soul crushing pick-six that resulted in a 14 point swing in Alabama’s favor.
It’s hard to win road games in the SEC when you make those kinds of mistakes.
One bright spot in the loss for the Vols, however, was the play of true freshman offensive lineman David Sanders Jr.
Vols offensive tackle David Sanders Jr named one of the top true freshman standouts of the week
Sanders, a former five-star recruit, missed the first four games of the season after suffering an injury a couple of days before Tennessee’s season-opener against Syracuse.
The Charlotte, NC native made his college debut in the Volunteers’ overtime win against Mississippi State late last month.
Tennessee has been easing Sanders into a bigger role as he gets acclimated to life in the SEC. He saw his most extensive action of the season against Alabama, playing 49 snaps in the loss (Sanders received 11 snaps against Mississippi State and 22 snaps against Arkansas).
Sanders played well enough against the Crimson Tide to be named one of On3’s true freshman standouts of the week.
“David Sanders Jr. was one of the bright spots for Tennessee’s offense in the Volunteers’ 37-20 loss at Alabama,” noted On3’s Charles Power. “The highly touted true freshman played his most extensive snaps of the season and delivered a great performance in pass protection, allowing zero pressures on 31 passing plays from his right tackle spot, according to Pro Football Focus. Sanders entered the game in the second quarter as Tennessee shifted starting right tackle Jesse Perry inside to guard.”
Sanders is going to be an extremely important part of the Vols’ success moving forward. The fact the held up well against one of the top teams in the country is a great sign for his future at Tennessee.
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The Tennessee Vols didn’t play well at all in their 37-20 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium
