Latest intel on No. 1 OT David Sanders Jr. as decision nears: ‘He could end up at three schools’

The recruitment of Charlotte Providence Day Five-Star Plus+ offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. will finally reach a climax on Aug. 17, as the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect will announce his commitment.

Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio State and Tennessee are all currently slated to have hats on the table. Each program has had momentum at some point throughout his process, but there can only be one winner.

On3 VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong has once again dished out the latest intel on Sanders’ recruitment with a decision now less than 10 days away. According to Wiltfong, the Sanders family is still yet to come to a decision, though one of the finalists is likely on the outside looking in.

“He could end up at three schools: Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska,” Wiltfong told On3’s Josh Newberg this week.

A pick is yet to be logged in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, but Tennessee has been the team trending leading into the home stretch. Wiltfong has previously tabbed Ohio State as the frontrunner, but he’s now looking at the Vols following another visit to Knoxville at the end of July. That trip came following a return visit to Nebraska, suggesting that the Cornhuskers can’t be ruled out of the race just yet, either.

“Obviously we’re now in the home stretch, he’s going to commit on the 17th. To my knowledge, no final decision has been made, no school has been alerted, they’re still having dialogue with all three of them and these programs are going to get the chance to make a final pitch,” Wiltfong said. “Talking to all my sources and adding up the intel, my best guess today would be Tennessee. But I’ve also at times had my best guess on Ohio State.”

Each school has reason to believe its in good shape for Sanders

Tennessee’s likely optimism is easy to understand. Sanders has visited Rocky Top five times in 2024 and has built a rock-solid relationship with quarterback commit George MacIntyre. Sanders has also made his fair share of trips to Columbus as the Buckeyes continue to pitch everything that he’s looking for in his home at the next level.

Nebraska, while it jumped into the running far later than others, has made a big splash across its two visits, with help from freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Wiltfong isn’t ruling out any of the three schools, knowing that plenty can occur in this high-profile recruitment across the next week leading into Sanders’ announcement.

“I know a lot of the buzz has been around the Vols, he’s been at every major recruiting weekend at Tennessee. This calendar year he’s been there five times. He’s been to games there in the past, Tennessee has poured a lot into the recruitment of David Sanders. But he’s been to Ohio State several times this year, continues to have regular dialogue with the Buckeyes. Made a return visit to Nebraska here at the end of the summer so he could get around the players more.

…I think all three of these programs are doing what they have to do to check as many boxes as they possibly can, that the Sanders family is looking for as David makes this college decision.”

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