David Sanders Jr. missed his second straight Tennessee football game with an injury, which could mean the freshman offensive lineman will make his debut against Georgia.
“Dave, anticipated him being ready,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said after the Vols beat ETSU 72-17 at Neyland Stadium. “Ultimately, medical decided for him, for us, it probably wasn’t the best move to play him today.”
Sanders was tracking to be Tennessee’s starting right tackle, but was “kind of got nicked up” days before UT’s season opener against Syracuse on Aug. 30. Heupel expressed optimism that Sanders would debut against ETSU, saying he anticipated Sanders being in practice to prepare to the Bucs.
He was the No. 2 offensive tackle and the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class
Tennessee started Lance Heard, Sham Umarov, Sam Pendleton, Wendell Moe Jr. and Jesse Perry from left to right on the offensive line in its first two games. Moe was likely to start at left guard with Perry at right guard if Sanders was healthy for the opener.
This story will be updated.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: David Sanders Jr. injury update: Josh Heupel on Tennessee football tackle
