Tennessee football is ready for its season opener against Syracuse on Saturday, but it will have to start the year without five-star Freshman David Sanders.
Volquest's Austin Price reported that Sanders is not expected to play in the season opener, revealing he was banged up in practice this week, but should return soon.
JUST IN: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Freshman OT David Sanders isn’t expected to play today after getting banged up in practice this week. Should be back soon I’m told. pic.twitter.com/DySVKmnlOX
— Austin Price (@AustinPriceless) August 30, 2025
Sanders was expected to be the Vols' starting right tackle before the injury concerns quickly arose throughout practice this week. He didn't join Tennessee in pre-game warm-ups and won't join his teammates on the field either, following an unfortunate injury update.
While it's good news that he won't be out for long, it could be an issue for an unproven offensive line and a new quarterback running the offense.
Based on Grant Ramey's Tennessee football depth chart, it looks like we could see Brian Grant or Bennett Warren man the right tackle spot with Sanders now out for the Syracuse game.
We could also see Lance Heard move over to right tackle, with one of the backups shifting to left tackle if the coaching staff feels more comfortable with that adjustment.
The top-ten prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class has a lot of potential and could be one of the best offensive linemen to come through Tennessee since Trey Smith, but we will have to wait at least one more week for Sanders to make his debut in orange and white.
Tennessee is set to kick off against Syracuse at 12:00 PM ET on ABC for the Aflac Kickoff in Atlanta, Georgia. The Vols are 13.5-point favorites for the season opener, despite the new-look offense with Joey Aguilar running the show at quarterback.