From the moment he made the move to Knoxville to join Tennessee football, there's been an enormous amount of pressure on offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. to live up to the hype. During spring ball, he was brilliant, impressing veteran leaders.
Early on in fall camp, Sanders is once again looking strong and he's expected to start at right tackle as a true freshman. You've also got to give it to this kid for taking his body seriously and doing whatever was necessary to make sure he'd be SEC ready for Week 1.
Need further proof of that? While speaking to reporters at fall camp, Sanders revealed that he has put on around 40 pounds since he joined the program back in January. He's now checking in a little under 310 pounds, which is of course huge for Josh Heupel:
Vols freshman OT David Sanders Jr. said he’s up 40 pounds to 305-308 since he arrived in January. They wanted him to get to 290.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) July 31, 2025
Freshman TE DaSaahn Brame said he arrived at 218 lbs. and is now up to 243 thanks to four meals a day & uncrustabels for snacks. Wants to get to 250.
Tennessee OT David Sanders Jr. has put on around 40 pounds this offseason
That really is remarkable. There are going to be a lot of new faces for the offensive line and Sanders is going to be the youngest. The 19-year-old tackle indeed enrolled early and was able to get a headstart on his college career by participating in spring ball.
That proved to be incredibly valuable for Sanders, as he was able to not only learn the playbook and get some reps in, but he was clearly working overtime in the weight room and got some solid advice on nutrition and on what he needed to eat to put on size.
This is something we always see - a youngster bulks up in incredible fashion after he gets put on the right kind of workout and meal plan. Sanders is going to be asked to play beyond his years at right tackle this season, but Heupel has said he's got confidence in his new playmaker.
Sanders signed with the Vols this past winter as a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the country. He nearly flipped to Ohio State, but Tennessee was able to hang on. The spotlight will be shining brightly on him this fall, but Sanders is already turning heads thanks to what he's getting done in town.