The Florida Atlantic Owls received a great gift on Christmas Eve, with head coach Zach Kittley and offensive line coach Stephen Hamby landing a huge addition to the trenches as Madden Sanker transfers to the team.
Madden Sanker
Offensive Lineman
6-4, 310 lbs
Transfer
Louisville
Sanker announced his commitment to the Owls on Tuesday morning via X, weeks after entering the portal on Dec. 9 and visiting the Boca Raton campus on Dec. 20. After two years at Louisville, he joins the program with three years of eligibility remaining.
A 6-foot-4 athlete, he boasts a 78-inch wing span as he can play on the offensive side of the field at an efficient level. His ability to make blocks to protect his quarterback is worthy to note about the potential he possessed at South Paulding High School, where he was teammates with quarterback Kasen Weisman, who is returning to the Owls for the 2025 season.
Sanker made plenty of blocks against opposing defenders to allow his quarterback to find his targets or make plays himself, and give the running back chances to find holes in the defense to exploit. He helped the Spartans run for 2,378 yards and 36 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry in the process during his junior season. He also recorded 50 pancake blocks, making himself a standout in the team’s trenches.
“The power and physicalness that he plays with stands out when he makes contact with his opponent. Does a good job of clearing through traffic to get to the 2nd level to engage linebackers in the run game,” said 247Sports’ national recruiting expert Chris Singletary in his scouting report on Sanker in May 2022.
“Once he latches on the defender he has strong hands and upper body strength to sustain the block. In the pass game his technique is above average where he shows patience with his hands and timing of his punch. Adequate in his capacity to redirect once the defender changes directions and his to adjust on the move to pick him up. In terms of the bull-rush he is able to anchor down and strong enough to stalemate the pressure of his opponent.
Sanker was viewed as a consensus four-star prospect by recruiting outlets coming out of high school. On 247Sports, he has a 90 score as the 22nd-best inside lineman in the Class of 2023 and the 29th-best player in the state of Georgia. He had multiple offers from Power Four teams like Tennessee, Auburn, Duke, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, Kentucky, and Ole Miss among other schools before choosing Louisville in July 2022.
He chose the Owls over intriguing offers from Western Kentucky and Georgia State among other schools.
Sanker has the ability to break down opposing defenses with his speed and strength, making him potentially invaluable for FAU’s O-line depth.
Some of his highlights at South Paulding High School can be viewed below: