This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 5-star OT David Sanders Jr. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 OT and the No. 2 overall prospect for 2025 for both the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry Ranking.
David Sanders Jr. remains the overall No. 1 target for the 2025 Georgia football recruiting class for the weekly “top targets” list on DawgNation’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting program.
He just took another impactful unofficial visit to UGA over the weekend. Sanders also took the time Monday afternoon to release his official visit schedule for May and June.
The 5-star OT had a couple of those scheduled earlier this month but waited until the full slate was set before releasing them publicly.
The breakdown:
- Six schools across three conferences (ACC, Big Ten and SEC)
- His first official will be in April (South Carolina)
- One official visit in May to his childhood “dream school” in Clemson (May 31-June 2)
- Four officials in June (Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio State)
The week-by-week tally flows like this:
- South Carolina (April 19-21)
- Clemson (May 31-June 2)
- Georgia (June 7-June 9)
- Tennessee (June 14-June 16)
- Alabama (June 18-June 20)
- Ohio State (June 21-June 23)
Those aren’t the only visits he has on deck. After unofficials this month to Clemson (March 10) and UGA (March 16), he already has unofficials remaining for Alabama (March 23) and Tennessee (April 12) to come.
This will be a hotly-contested recruitment. It seems like the most national buzz has centered around Clemson, Georgia and Tennessee up to this point. Several analysts have stated Clemson might have a slight lead over the field.
If we’re being honest, there have been times when it seemed like several schools among his final “strong six” have held a slight edge at one point.
After he cut down his considerable offer list to a final six, Sanders told DawgNation what those schools have in common.
“I feel like every school brings something unique within their program,” he said on March 1. “Within my list, everybody just has their own little flair and their own unique abilities that they bring to the table. Everybody is really really good and obviously, everybody can offer what they can offer. But you just find what you feel is most important to you within each and every school. So I feel like every school is unique, but definitely they all have something in common and that is that family atmosphere and instilling that warmth within the program.”
Clemson got the weekend the ‘Dawgs would’ve loved to have hosted Sanders. That first weekend in June is the one the ‘Dawgs now annually seek to steer their highest-level targets toward.
KJ Bolden was with Clemson on that coveted weekend a year ago. He didn’t sign with the Tigers. He initially committed to FSU before a signing day flip to Georgia.
“It is no secret that Georgia has always been one of the top schools that I’ve been considering,” Sanders Jr. said this month. “You can’t neglect the fact that they are back-to-back national champions. They are known for taking that 5-star talent and maintaining that 5-star all the way up through college and making them first-round draft picks. That’s been something you can’t look past.”
“Coach Searels. Coach Smart. They do a great job with recruiting and recruiting-wise. I feel like some schools in their position would definitely take that opportunity for granted. But I feel like they are so humble with it and they don’t really give off that cocky vibe like ‘We are Georgia. You have to come play for us’ I mean they really are taking it serious and building those relationships not only with me but with my family. So that has been something huge for me with Georgia. Knowing I can go get developed by the best, compete against the best each and every day and be surrounded by like-minded individuals.”
David Sanders Jr. gave himself a chance to play early in college this year
He’s a worthy 5-star in any cycle.
The 6-foot-6 rising senior has been well coached, has great feet, remarkable overall athleticism and off-the-charts intangibles. He also has the right kind of mean streak on the field. His college O-line coach won’t have to stir that up in him every game.
He spent some time training recently with former Auburn All-American and long-time OL trainer Willie Anderson. Anderson played 13 seasons in the NFL and is about as close to the Hall of Fame a player can get without having a gold jacket in his closet.
Sanders was up to 276.2 pounds earlier this month without a shirt and shoes. That’s a tell that he will not have much trouble getting up to the 285-to-290 pounds he needs to put on for his senior year. That is so he will contend for playing time right away when he enrolls early in college football in January 2025.
He hasn’t rushed it. Sanders has been vigilant with his meal plans and protein shakes this year. It has allowed him to steadily gain weight since the last game of his junior season. He said he was in the 250s when his Providence Day Chargers won their third straight North Carolina independent schools state championship.
The funny thing is these schools courting him heavily haven’t focused on his weight.
“The schools I’ve been talking to I’ve been keeping them updated,” Sanders Jr. said this month. “They are happy with my weight progress. They say if I walked in at 295, I’d be in good shape because they are going to put on 15 pounds as soon as I walk in.”
“I’m really excited for that. I’ll be in top-notch shape and I’ll be at the weight they need me at. So that’s perfect.”
Sanders feels like there’s no school opportunity here with a more advantageous depth chart situation versus the others. It doesn’t sound like that’s a criterion for him at all.
“For me, I feel if I go in with the right weight, the right mindset and just that focus and drive to know I want to be the starter come my freshman year, I can go anywhere in the country and do that,” he said earlier this month. “So I feel like with me just taking those proper steps right now, it is not going to start when I get there in December. It is going to start now. Me putting on the right weight now. So that when I get there it is not ‘We have got to put the weight on you first’ and ‘Now you have got to learn the playbook’ I mean it will be coach I’m coming in ready to play all you got to do is get me up to speed and I’m ready to go. So I don’t want it to be any excuses on my part. It is just going to be if the chips align and it is right for me to start, then I will be starting.”
“But If not, then I will take that year to learn and focus us and do what I need to do to start the next year. For me, I feel like all of these six schools have the opportunity for me to start as a freshman. There’s nowhere I ‘m going to go where I feel like I can’t start because this guy is so good or anything like that. I feel like if I have the right preparation right now and I put on the right weight and I get in the weight room and attack that the right way then I will be set to go. For sure.”
He sounds confident and prepared and has a plan.
It is a lofty goal for any first-year player to earn significant or starter-level reps in the SEC or any Power 5 conference, but Sanders has both the ability and the mindset to do so.
Check out his junior tape. It is all there for the nation’s No. 1 OT prospect. He was named the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year after his 2023 season. That’s a rare feat for an underclassman, much less an offensive lineman.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
