The tight end position, as it pertains to the Tennessee Vols, looks a little different this season.
The departure of senior tight ends Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles, who combined for 38 catches for 474 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023, left big shoes that needed to be filled… and it looks as if the Vols have filled them.
With the addition of two transfers, Holden Staes (Notre Dame) and Miles Kitselman (Alabama), as well as returning redshirt freshman Ethan Davis, the remodeled tight end room looks solid for Tennessee in 2024.
On this week’s Vol Report with Cooper Mays, we asked the veteran center to give us a breakdown on these three tight ends, discussing their physical and mental acuities.
The 6’4” 245-pound Culinary Arts major Davis spent the offseason bulking up and has some serious speed to go along with his frame. “I don’t know if he’s like a big, freakish, strong type,” Mays said of Davis. “But as far as his body type, length, height and then smoothness and athleticism and ability to make a difference in the passing game from what I understand… he does look like he’s very, very talented and gifted… he’s definitely a specimen.”
As mentioned, Kitselman transferred in this year from Alabama. The 6-foot-5, 256-pound tight end played in 13 games for the Tide in 2023, mostly on special teams.
“Miles is going to be a really good player for us this year,” Mays observed. “He’s a really good blocker, I will say that. But definitely not lacking at all in the receiving game. He can make a difference there as well.
“He’s an intense guy,” Mays continued about Kitselman. “I always have to joke with him because he’s just so intense and everything. I just have to be like, ‘Dude, it’s not that serious. Let’s calm down a little bit.’ Or, you can just screw with him and just make fun of how serious he is. But he’s a good sport. I like Miles a lot.”
Staes comes to Tennessee highly regarded – 247sports.com named him the No. 1 tight end in the transfer portal. The the 6-foot-4, 248-pound transfer played in 22 games with nine starts at Notre Dame and caught 16 passes for 187 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think (Staes) is maybe a good mixture of both of (Davis and Kitselman),” Mays noted. “I don’t really know how to describe it, but… we got three guys that can play really good ball. They’re going to have no issues whenever each of them is in. I can’t say enough good things about all three of those guys and what they bring to the table. I don’t know how it’ll all shake out, but I think it’ll all shake out really well.
“You can feel the intensity off some of them,” said Mays of his tight end teammates. “And I think they’re all very willing and able. So, when you got somebody that’s willing, it helps out a lot.”
