Tennessee football hosted Notre Dame transfer tight end Holden Staes on a visit over the weekend as the Vols look to bolster their shaky tight end depth. Following the visit, Staes went to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share photos from his visit.
GBO? 🍊 pic.twitter.com/mRDad58ey4
— Holden Staes (@Hstaes13) December 10, 2023
Staes is in the transfer portal after spending two seasons at Notre Dame. The 6-foot-4, 242-pound tight end played in 11 games as a freshman before playing 11 games as a sophomore and earning a much larger role in the Fighting Irish’s offense.
The former four-star recruit caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns in his sophomore season at Notre Dame while earning a 60.6 PFF grade. As a reference point, Tennessee tight ends Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles earned a 60.7 and 65.0 PFF grade respectively last season.
More From RTI: Joe Milton III Officially Accepts Senior Bowl Invite
Staes is an Atlanta, Georgia native and ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 288 player in the class of 2022 according to the 247sports composite rankings. Staes has two years of eligibility remaining.
Tennessee is in desperate need of tight ends to its roster ahead of the 2024 season. Warren and Castles combined to play the vast majority of tight end reps for the Vols last season and both are out of eligibility after the Citrus Bowl.
Freshman Ethan Davis is a talented tight end who showed flashes as a high-level pass catcher in practice and in limited opportunities during the 2023 season but was unable to earn a consistent role in his first college season largely due to blocking limitations.
Davis is poised to be a major piece of the puzzle for Tennessee at tight end next season but the Vols still need to add another body or two for depth purposes at the bare minimum. Tennessee doesn’t have a single high school tight end committed in its 2024 recruiting class.
