5-star David Sanders Jr. officially signs with Tennessee football

After national early signing day on Wednesday, Tennessee football’s program secured their protector for the upcoming season, officially signing five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr., per Austin Price of On3.

“OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL,” Price wrote on X. “@DavidLSandersJr announces on @finebaum he has signed with Tennessee!”

Tennessee was in a football recruiting war with Ohio State, but eventually, the Volunteers swayed the top offensive tackle to Rocky Top Nation.

After finishing 11-2, 9-4, and 10-2 in their last three seasons, Tennessee has made itself a strong recruiting football program, and adding the five-star offensive tackle just proved that point.

While his signature took one day longer than they may have hoped, the Tennessee Volunteers got their guy.

Tennessee football signs 5-star OT David Sanders Jr. over Ohio State

After a heated recruiting battle between the Tennessee football program and Ohio State, Sanders officially signed with the Volunteers on Thursday.

The 6-foot-5, 276-pound Charlotte, NC, native was ranked the On3’s top offensive tackle in the class and the sixth-ranked recruit in the nation.

Sanders is considered a “big-time offensive tackle prospect and has an outstanding combination of reactive athleticism and play strength for the position,” according to his On3 scouting profile.

With Tennessee having one of the more exciting quarterbacks in college football— Nico Iamaleava— their ability to keep him protected is crucial. And now, as Sanders joins Tennessee’s offensive line, protecting Iamaleava has become a whole lot easier.

While the Volunteers had to battle against plenty of teams to get Sanders to sign with them, his visit in Week 7— when Tennessee upset Alabama— was what seemingly got it done.

Under head coach Josh Heupel, Tennessee has seen strides in its football team, and following a 10-2 finish in 2024, the Volunteers are a football program to look out for in the SEC.