Tennessee football offered UConn tight end Justin Joly on Monday morning shortly after he officially entered the transfer portal. The rising junior previously announced plans to enter the transfer portal late last week.
The Vols are the very first school to offer the transfer tight end according to Joly’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
After a great talk with @AlecAbeln I’m blessed to receive an offer from The Univeristy of Tennessee pic.twitter.com/KfYS6vGukU
— Justin Joly (@jjoly_17) December 4, 2023
There’s good reason for Tennessee to be quick offering Jolly. The sophomore tight end turned in an excellent game inside Neyland Stadium this November, catching eight passes for 89 yards against the Vols.
Tight end is a major position of need for Tennessee in the transfer portal. The Vols lose their top two tight ends, Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles, from the 2023 season with both seniors running out of eligibility. Castles and Warren played the vast majority of snaps at tight end for Tennessee last season.
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Tennessee does return a handful of tight ends from last season, most notably freshmen Ethan Davis and Emmanuel Okoye. Davis was a top 100 recruit and impressed with his pass catching ability in his limited playing time as a freshman. Even if Davis steps up into a larger role, Tennessee needs to add at least one more tight end to its roster this offseason.
As a sophomore at UConn, Joly caught 56 passes for 578 yards and two touchdowns. As a freshman, Jolly caught 18 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 232-pound tight end is a New Rochelle, New York native.
