The latest on David Sanders
After a pursuit that has lasted about two years, Ohio State will finally learn their fate in regard to the nation’s top offensive tackle, David Sanders Jr., on Saturday at 12:30 PM EST.
Sanders is set to make his college decision between the Buckeyes, Tennessee, Nebraska, and Georgia, but
is most likely going to pick one of the first three aforementioned programs.
Up until a few weeks ago, the Scarlet and Gray were looking in strong position to land a pledge from the five-star-plus prospect. It has been thought that Ohio State and the Volunteers have been the two teams jockeying for position at the top since the spring, and with the Bucks getting the last official visit in late June, the feeling was that OSU solidified themselves as the very likely destination.
But with the last weekend in July open, Sanders
chose to make visits to both Lincoln and Knoxville, and not to Columbus, giving
Nebraska hope, leaving Tennessee feeling good, and Ohio State clinging on to some cautious optimism. The feeling coming out of those late-July visits now is that the Vols really upped their pitch to the Sanders camp and the consensus feeling amongst insiders, including
Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) picks from On3’s Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons (and others), is that Rocky Top is the favorite to land the blue-chipper, who is arguably the top prospect overall in the country.
In speaking with sources familiar with the staff at Tennessee, confidence remains
very high going into Saturday’s decision that the Vols will be the pick.
Nebraska isn’t confident, but it seems there is “a glimmer of hope” that Sanders could surprise people and call Lincoln home.
In talking with folks inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, I can tell you that they have not been told “no” by the Sanders camp yet, and there is still some cautious optimism left that all of the feelings and reasons that had them as the perceived favorite in late June to mid-July are still existing, potentially making all of the UT-buzz a smokescreen. I can also tell you, though, there doesn’t seem to be as much confidence around Sanders coming to Columbus as there once was, even as recently as a month ago.
I’m going to bow out of making a formal RPM pick on this one, but gun to my head, I’d have to go with the Vols, just given all of the momentum it seems they have coming from that last visit. The NIL opportunity is there, the proximity to home is there, the relationships are there, and the opportunity to get on the field early is there. It’s almost hard at this point to see Sanders picking somewhere else.
