Should Tennessee football go with one tight end? Transfer, freshman making their case

If you thought Tennessee would only use two tight ends in Josh Heupel’s offense, think again.

Sixth-year senior Jacob Warren could be a solo act after Princeton Fant left for the NFL Draft, although the Vols hope that’s not the case.

Either UC-Davis transfer McCallan Castles or 4-star freshman Ethan Davis could fill Fant’s role alongside Warren to complete the duo.

However, that duo could turn into a trio of Warren, Castles and Davis. That’s preferred.

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“Ideally, you’d have three because we don’t really sub a whole lot in drives,” tight ends coach Alec Abeln said. “Having guys that can roll and spell each other (is important). It makes it tough if you don’t have two.”

“But, ideally, (three) is what we’ve got.”

Here's what Jacob Warren thinks Tennessee should do

The Vols have relied on two tight ends under Heupel – no more and no less.

In the past two seasons, Warren and Fant played 1,848 of the 2,047 offensive snaps by tight ends, or 90%. And since UT mostly utilizes formations with one tight end, Warren and Fant have often rotated rather than play together.

Could Warren play every down without needing a substitute? He said he’d rather not.

“It’s great to have the 1-2 (combination of tight ends) or the 1-2-3 to lean on each other,” Warren said.

So is there room to expand that rotation to three tight ends? In spring practice, it seems possible and perhaps preferable.

“Depth is always your friend,” Warren said. “With the nature of this conference and the games that we play, we’re usually playing a lot of plays. We play really fast, and, obviously, our up-tempo offense is strenuous. So being able to have numbers and depth is really big for this group right now.”

Why McCallan Castles will finish college career with Vols

Castles and Davis tout talent. But there’s also obstacles for them to crack the lineup.

Castles, a graduate transfer, is skilled and experience. He played two seasons at Cal in the Pac-12. Then he transferred to UC-Davis, an FCS school, where he earned all-conference accolades.

He came to UT to play immediately and make an impact in college football’s highest-scoring offense.

“I’ve got one year left of college football, and I felt like I had hit my max potential playing FCS football,” Castles said. “If you want to play at the next level (in the NFL), you’ve got to keep playing higher-level competition.

“Coming to the SEC and playing at Tennessee, it allows me to practice against guys that are going to be (in the NFL) and play against guys that are going to be there.”

But Castles said it’s been difficult to adjust to the pace of UT’s offense. And blocking SEC defenders is a new challenge for Castles, a 6-foot-5, 233-pounder.

Ethan Davis has upside. But is he ready to play now?

Abeln thinks Castles will get the hang of it before the season starts. Davis’ situation is more interesting because coaches were immediately impressed by his receiving abilities.

“Ethan is really, really skilled,” offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. “Really good-sized kid (6-5, 228). He can run. He’s fluid. He’s got loose hips, and he’s been really impressive to watch on the field.”

Davis chose UT among 20 scholarship offers from Power Five programs — including SEC schools Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas A&M.

But Davis played only one season of varsity high school football and missed most of his senior year with a shoulder injury. He’s an athletic pass-catching tight end, but he has limited experience as a blocker on the line of scrimmage.

“Athletically, (Davis) is really unique. He’s got a chance to be a really special player,” Abeln said. “Coming off the shoulder (injury) and not having spent a lot of time in the (tackle) box in high school, I’m really impressed with where he’s at right now. I do think he’s got a long way to go.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.  

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football testing transfer, touted freshman to reload at tight end