Tennessee's Josh Heupel Reveals Injury Update on 5-Star Freshman Amid College Football Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 2:10 PM ET

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has a 39-16 record with the Volunteers since 2021.

While he has taken the program to the College Football Playoff, one thing he has not been able do is beat Georgia. The No. 6 Bulldogs beat the No. 15 Volunteers 44-41 in overtime in Week 3 for their ninth-straight win against Tennessee.

Tennessee was able to take Georgia to overtime despite not having starting cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III, as well as starting offensive tackle David Sanders Jr.

Sanders is a true freshman for the Volunteers, and has been dealing with a shoulder injury the last three games.

Heupel stated that Sanders is day-to-day and is waiting to be medically cleared, via On3's Pete Nakos.

Sanders was the gem of Tennessee's 2025 class, as a five-star offensive tackle and No. overall prospect in the Rivals Industry Rankings. Heupel's 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 11 overall on On3 Sports.

Sanders received interest from top teams around the country like Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina and Alabama.

The recruit played high school football in Charlotte, North Carolina for Providence Day School.

The sooner that Sanders can make his Tennessee debut the better. This Saturday's game against UAB is the last non-conference matchup of the season before facing the remainder of its SEC schedule.

The Volunteers still face ranked opponents such as No. 14 Alabama (Oct. 18), No. 11 Oklahoma (Nov. 1) and No. 20 Vanderbilt (Nov. 29).

Tennessee has never lost to UAB and is 5-0 all-time against the Blazers. The last meeting between the two programs was back in 2019, with Tennessee winning 30-7.

The next SEC game on the schedule for Heupel and his team is Mississippi State on Sept. 27.

Kickoff for Saturday's game is at 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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