The Tennessee Vols officially made a huge statement on the recruiting trail

The Tennessee Vols made quite the recruiting statement on Saturday afternoon.

After a lengthy recruiting battle that involved the top programs in college football, the Vols emerged as the winners of the David Sanders Jr sweepstakes.

The 2025 five-star offensive lineman announced his commitment to Tennessee via a ceremony in his hometown of Charlotte, NC on Saturday.

Sanders, 6-foot-6/290 lbs, is rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 2 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.

Georgia, Nebraska, and Ohio State were the other finalists for Sanders. Alabama, Clemson, Michigan (the first team to offer Sanders...when he was in 8th grade), North Carolina, and NC State, among others, were also involved in Sanders' recruitment.

With Sanders now committed to the Vols, Tennessee has commitments from two of the top offensive linemen in the 2025 recruiting class (four-star offensive lineman Douglas Utu, who committed to UT in June, is the No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the nation).

After finishing with the No. 13 2024 recruiting class in the nation, the Vols are poised to finish with at least a top 10 class in 2025 (they have a chance to finish with a top five class depending on how the rest of the recruiting cycle plays out).

Tennessee hasn't taken any recruiting shortcuts under Josh Heupel. They've built recruiting momentum in a sustainable way -- by letting their actions be their biggest sales pitch. And that clearly worked to their advantage in Sanders' recruitment. The coveted offensive lineman has made it clear numerous times during his recruitment that a family atmosphere is important to him. And Tennessee has one of the most genuine family atmospheres in the sport right now.

The Vols are continuing to ascend under Heupel. They need to keep taking steps forward (making he College Football Playoff in 2024 would be a big step for the program), but it's easy to see how the Tennessee football program is a sleeping giant. Heupel and his staff just have to make sure they can fully awaken the giant.

Related: Quote from former Vols OC Alex Golesh helps confirms suspicion about why Josh Heupel is so secretive about his offense