CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As “Rocky Top” blared from the speakers in the gym at Providence Day School, David Sanders Jr. sat and smiled as a host of reporters scurried to ask him questions.

In the previous five minutes, he had cried, laughed and exhaled. His college decision was finally set, and he could relax.

Sanders chose Tennessee over Ohio State, Nebraska and Georgia on Saturday afternoon, ending a months-long pursuit by the Buckeyes. Unfortunately for Ohio State, though, Sanders is headed to Rocky Top as the 2025 class is now in flux without any clear-cut options set to replace his spot.

The decision wasn’t easy for Sanders to make. There were thoughts that location was important for the Charlotte-native — Knoxville, Tennessee, is about a 3 1/2 hour drive, compared to Columbus, which is about a seven hour drive.

Sanders, though, squashed that on Saturday and gave a glimpse of how tantalizingly close the Buckeyes were to landing the No. 2 overall prospect, and No. 1 offensive tackle, in the 2025 class.

“A little bit, but Ohio State was — I swear — right there,” Sanders said. “Ohio State, it wouldn’t have mattered that it was cold. I was almost there.”

Sanders also credited Ohio State for the job it did recruiting him, noting that it was a very tough decision for him to decide between his first and second schools.

“Everything,” Sanders said of what stood out about the Buckeyes. “Their development. They did a phenomenal job recruiting me. That was a hard decision between one and two.”

While Sanders was going through the process, he relied on NBA forward and current Charlotte Hornet Grant Williams for guidance. Williams also attended Providence Day School and, like Sanders is about to do, attended Tennessee. The two have known each other since Sanders was in middle school.

Williams, the 2019 first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics, told him about the recruiting process and the business aspect of things. He and Sanders talked about his clothing line months ago.

As for NIL, while Williams wasn’t in college for that time of college athletics, he was able to offer guidance as to what was coming for him.

“I told him it’s going to be something you’ve never experienced in your life,” Williams said. “Both enjoy it, and be mindful. You’re there for a reason. You’re there to accomplish something. Those three years can be great, fun years, but your goal is to make it further down the line … He’s a special kid.”

In the end, though, Sanders felt that the Volunteers did just a bit more than anyone else — the Buckeyes included.

“The personal feel,” Sanders said. “I feel like Tennessee had been recruiting me a little bit harder and longer than Ohio State. I felt at home more at Tennessee than I did Ohio State.”

A visit to Knoxville on the last weekend of July made his decision official, though he says he felt it from the time he took his official visit, as Ohio State’s most painful miss of the cycle came to fruition on Saturday.

“That solidified it for me,” Sanders said of the latest visit. “When I went there again, I thought, ‘I can’t wait any longer. I just got it done.’”

Wherever he went, he felt that he had the chance to start right away if he does the right things. The same goes for his team competing in the College Football Playoff.

And in a remarkably close decision, Sanders felt the Volunteers edged out the Buckeyes.

“I figure as long as I did what I had to do, I had a chance to start wherever I went,” Sanders said. “Tennessee definitely showed me clear cut, ‘As long as you do what you gotta do, you’re going to be our guy.’”