If you’re looking for the most unlikely background story for a standout player on Tennessee’s roster, look no further than Volunteer tight end Miles Kitselman.
There arguably isn’t a Vol that has played any better than Kitselman this season. No one would have guessed that when he was in high school.
Against Tennessee’s best opponent, North Carolina State, which was ranked No. 24 when the Wolfpack played the Vols, Kitselman was the highest-rated player for Tennessee with a 94.0 rating. Not bad for a player who was once barely offered a Div.-II scholarship to play defensive end.
Per some deft insight by ESPN’s Cole Cubelic on “The Cube Show”, Kitselman was all set to take that D-II offer to play defensive end before his family talked him out of it. Why would they turn down a free education? What other options were out there?
Well, Kitselman could always attend Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College and play the position that his family thought he had the physical ability to excel at, which was tight end, even though big-time college scouts didn’t exactly see it that way. Per Cubelic, Kitselman wasn’t very good when he started out playing on offense at Hutchinson, but he continued to plug away. Then, an unlikely scholarship offer popped up from one of the best college football programs in the nation.
While recruiting receiver Malik Benson, Alabama coach Nick Saban saw Kitselman and decided to take a shot by offering him a scholarship. Both players played for Alabama, but Benson ended up at Florida State and Kitselman, of course, ended up at Tennessee after two seasons with the Crimson Tide.
“Bet on yourself,” was the family mantra, per Cubelic, for Kitselman, who took the same advice from his girlfriend when he was considering leaving Bama for Knoxville. The bet paid off.
Kitselman is part of a three-headed tight end monster that includes Notre Dame transfer Holden Staes and redshirt freshman sensation Ethan Davis. Kitselman’s decision to transfer to Tennessee has changed the Vols offensively. The depth that he and his tight end teammates have provided the Vols’ coaching staff has allowed Tennessee to play a two tight end set when needed. The Vols could never do that before for fear that they didn’t have enough depth to lose a tight end, which is a key part of the Vols’ offense.
“I think he’s fantastic,” said Cubelic, who was a former standout center for Auburn and covered the Vols’ 71-0 beatdown of Kent State last week.
Things will get a bit more challenging for Kitselman this week when the No. 6 Vols take on the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners, who pride themselves in being physical up front on defense. While Staes seems more like the Vols’ blocking tight end and Davis has the ability to frighten linebackers and safeties with his ability to get open downfield, Kitsleman seems to be the best combination of both facets of the game. That versatility also makes him pretty unpredictable.
“This is going to be a great test for us,” the senior said. “They have a hell of a team over there, and I am just excited to see what the coaches give us as a game plan this week and ready to attack it. Oklahoma is definitely going to be a great test for us, they have a bunch of ball players over there.”
They do, but so does Tennessee.
