Tennessee Vols win big and get lots of playoff help, but a dark cloud is now hanging over the program
The Tennessee Vols had an excellent Saturday. Tennessee beat UTEP and then received plenty of College Football Playoff help thanks to losses by Indiana, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Texas A&M. The Vols are now right back in the playoff race. All Tennessee needs to do to secure a spot in the tournament is beat Vanderbilt […]
The Tennessee Vols had an excellent Saturday.
Tennessee beat UTEP and then received plenty of College Football Playoff help thanks to losses by Indiana, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Texas A&M.
The Vols are now right back in the playoff race. All Tennessee needs to do to secure a spot in the tournament is beat Vanderbilt next Saturday in Nashville.
But while the games went Tennessee's way on Saturday, there's a still a dark cloud hanging over the program due to some recruiting news that broke before the Vols took the field against UTEP.
2025 five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr, a Tennessee commit since August, was in Columbus on Saturday for Ohio State's win against Indiana.
Sanders, who is rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class, committed to Tennessee over Ohio State in August. But now it looks like the Buckeyes have a legitimate chance to flip the coveted recruit.
On3's Steve Wiltfong noted on Saturday that some of his sources think Sanders' recruitment is starting to "trend Ohio State's way".
"In talking to a source early this morning, they thought this was even starting to trend Ohio State's way," said Wiltfong. "We'll see how the conversation goes with the Sanders family [and] Ohio State. But he's having a great time. He's around the Ohio State recruits, got around the coaches. You saw him there with (Buckeyes) offensive line coach Justin Frye, who he trusts. Look, there were times when I thought Ohio State led for David Sanders. It was obvious they finished in the top two for him to be back on campus in Columbus."
"As he goes to make a final decision on where he's going to sign his letter of intent, getting back to Ohio State is now a part of the process," continued Wiltfong. "And Tennessee definitely has major competition here talking to sources on my end."
Losing Sanders, the crown jewel of the Vols' 2025 recruiting class, would be a major blow to Tennessee. It would immediately disrupt the Vols' recruiting momentum and it would take away a potential starting option for Tennessee in 2025.
There's definitely reason for concern here if you're a Vols fan. Tennessee needs to find a way this week to keep Sanders in the commit column, otherwise there's going to be a lot of noise on Rocky Top when it comes to offensive line recruiting.
