Georgia
4-star Omarii Sanders commits to Vanderbilt football over Tennessee, Georgia
Everything about Vanderbilt football felt right for Franklin Road Academy junior Omarii Sanders.
Now, he represents a milestone in Commodores coach Clark Lea’s success.
Sanders, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound, four-star prospect, verbally committed to Vanderbilt on Nov. 29 over Tennessee, Texas A&M, Georgia and Miami.
In Sanders, Vanderbilt has a chance to sign its first high school player ranked among 247Sports’ top 50 players nationally, according to the website’s data. Sanders is ranked as the No. 4 linebacker and No. 49 player overall nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite.
“It was Coach Lea’s message and the way his team has progressed from last year to this year. You can see they’re on the right path,” Sanders said. “He (Lea) is just a very intelligent guy. I just like how his demeanor is. He knows what he wants and what he wants out of the team and how to get it out of them.”
Vanderbilt has forged its way into College Football Playoff discussions this fall under Lea and is enjoying one of its best seasons ever. The university signed Lea to a contract extension on Nov. 28. In his fifth season at Vandy, Lea — whose name was mentioned with recent job openings that included Penn State and Auburn — has an overall record of 25-35.
The Commodores recruited Sanders as a safety, the position he currently plays in high school. That appealed to him, he said. Schools were also recruiting Sanders as an outside linebacker or edge-rusher because of his big frame.
Sanders has also been a star receiver while helping lead FRA (11-1) to the Division II-AA state championship game for the first time since 1991. The Panthers play BGA (12-1) for the title on Dec. 4.
Sanders’ only official visit to Vanderbilt this season was for its 17-10 home win over Missouri on Oct. 25.
The atmosphere was nothing like the Vanderbilt football program remembered growing up.
“It’s very different now. They didn’t win much when I was young, but as you can see now you have to play hard to beat them,” Sanders said. “They’re not at the bottom of the barrel anymore.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
Gulfstream recently announced a $5 million investment in Georgia education, welcoming students and leaders to its Savannah headquarters.
ATHENS, Ga. – Designated hitter Daniel Jackson and centerfielder Rylan Lujo combined for nine RBI Sunday, leading fifth-ranked Georgia to a 12-1 win over LSU at Foley Field.
Georgia improved to 41-11 overall, 21-6 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 29-24 overall and 9-18 in conference play.
The Tigers return to action at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday when they play host to Florida in Game 1 of a three-game SEC series in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.
“Georgia won the moments in this series,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “They’re going to score, so you’ve got to capitalize against them when you have scoring opportunities on offense.”
Georgia starting pitcher Caden Aoki (8-0) was the winner, limiting LSU to one run on four hits in 5.0 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.
LSU right-hander Casan Evans (2-3), making his first appearance since April 17 versus Texas A&M, started the game Sunday and was charged with the loss, working 1.2 innings and allowing four runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
“I thought Casan’s stuff looked great, and that’s good for him from a health standpoint,” Johnson said. “He’s a guy that the more he pitches, the better he is, so there might have been a little bit of rust, but I thought he competed fine.”
Georgia struck for four runs in the bottom of the second inning in an outburst highlighted by Jackson’s two-out, two-run single and an RBI single by second baseman Ryan Black.
The Tigers narrowed the gap to 4-1 in the third when designated hitter Omar Serna Jr. delivered an RBI single.
Georgia extended its lead to 7-1 in the fourth as Jackson launched a two-run homer and centerfielder Lujo lined a run-scoring single.
Lujo unloaded a grand slam in the fifth, giving the Bulldogs an 11-1 advantage.
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