Tennessee Volunteers tight end Ethan Davis has spent the past two seasons learning and developing under older leadership. Now, it’s time for him to make a substantial impact.
The Tennessee Volunteers continue to rebuild the tight end position in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s been an ongoing process for tight ends coach Alec Abeln, who has recruited well. The Vols also got strong production from Miles Kitselman last season, a positive development for the team. However, they’re still waiting for one of their highly-rated tight end prospects to make an impact.
Redshirt sophomore Ethan Davis has drawn plenty of attention during spring practices. In 2024, Davis logged 13 receptions for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns, a strong step for him but not enough to be a consistent body in the rotation. Davis is now the No. 2 tight end in the room and has taken steps during the spring window, enough for Abeln to heap some praise on him during Saturday’s media availability.
“There were moments last year throughout the season that he’d do really good things and flash and be like, man, if we can just do this on a consistent basis, we can really trust you more,” Abeln explained. “It’s been really consistent, and I think it starts really with just having consistent energy in practice. And understanding that as he grows up and matures, and it’s really cool to think about where he was when he walked in the door, just not only as a football player but really as a human and how he attacks every day, how his enthusiasm is so contagious for our room.”
While Tennessee still has big expectations for Davis moving forward and aren’t ready to anoint anyone through ten spring practices, Abeln is very pleased with how Davis has grown into himself.
“I think he’s taking a huge step. One, just having an offseason where his body is healthy going into it has allowed him to really get stronger. Not to put on weight but really changing his body. And all through however many days it’s been, he’s been doing a really good job, got to clean up some stuff in the line, but really taking a bunch of steps and got to continue to do that.”