The Vols are on their way to surf through the Crimson Tide and tame the wild Bulldogs. Tennessee shares a historic rivalry against both Georgia and Alabama and while the two mentioned teams are staunch foes of each other, they have had no trouble bashing the Vols time and time again but with an iconic new addition to the men in orange, the odds on the board seem to be shifting drastically.

As a quarterback recruiter, no one’s doing it better than Josh Heupel, the HC for the Tennessee Volunteers at the moment. He ensured a commitment from 2026 Faizon Brandon, the No.1 overall as per 247 Sports, and as the cherry on top, Heupel has brought in David Sanders, who’s very likely the top offensive tackle in the nation. This indicates the dawn of a new era in Tennessee, making teams like Alabama and Georgia have their guards up for a strong contending war.

Heupel is coming for the mantles of Alabama and Georgia

On the 17th August episode of the On3 Show, J.D. Pickell took to the mic to talk about the newest 5-star OL David Sanders, and his commitment to Tennesee Vols. Later, he also emphasized how big of a danger he will be to the dominant sides of Georgia and Alabama since they are more likely to “close the gap” now.

As per Pickell, the only way to move towards an era where defeating teams like Georgia and Alabama becomes easier is to consistently keep bringing in guys like David Sanders. The host said, “The gap at Tennessee to keep Tennessee from beating teams like Georgia has been up front, it’s been in the trenches. So how do you close that gap? You land guys like David Sanders. You start acquiring the crème de la crème in the trenches consistently.” Thus, Sanders is going to be a vital addition to the Vols’ fight against the two giants who have constantly belittled them throughout the course of history.

The Vols rivalry against Georgia and Alabama

The rivalry between Georgia and Tennessee is a relatively new one since the two only started to meet each other more often after the formation of the SEC Eastern Division in 1992. They have faced off against each other a total of 52 times and at the moment, Georgia leads the series with a record of 27-23-2. There are not a lot of games to win for the Vols to take the lead, but when it comes to Alabama, they will need more than the talents of Sanders to bridge that gap.

The rivalry between Tennessee and Alabama is famously called the ‘Third Saturday in October’, which is the date on which the game is usually played. Although it got a bit harder to stick to the tradition of the date, the games have never been short of a nail-biter. The two have wrestled heads a total of 106 times and the men in Crimson lead the series with a score of 59-39-7, which is far too big of a distance to close in anytime soon. Though the Vols aren’t going to upstage Alabama until a few years, the onset of David Sanders indicates a new wave of change occurring, one that places them better on the scoreboard of history.