Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln first joined the Vols’ program as an offensive analyst in 2021 before being promoted to the tight ends position before the 2023 season.
And while Abeln had a veteran tight end in Jacob Warren and a newly-arriving transfer in McCallan Castles, Tennessee didn’t have a ton of standout players for the future. The Vols had a handful of guys in the tight end room in 2023 including four-star freshman Ethan Davis but they were going to need to hit harder on the recruiting trail to keep up with the pace that they were tracking in other positions such as quarterback and EDGE rusher.
Abeln had the disadvantage of time when it came to the 2024 recruiting class considering he was promoted into his new role during the recruiting cycle. Months and months passed of Tennessee working the recruiting trail over Abeln’s first few months but nothing was manifesting like they wanted it to.
Abeln recalls an unsettling feeling when processing recruiting over his first few months on the job. Knowing that he could continue his own efforts on and off the field, Abeln let go of the rest and turned it over to his faith.
“I’m not a guy that really gets anxious or stresses about much, but a year ago, especially the first couple months, it was something that, obviously you understand the importance of (recruiting),” Abeln said. “And truth be told, I was sitting in church like early May (2023) and we have a prayer card, 21 days of prayer, and I wrote down recruiting. And had a little note typed up in my phone and just said, hey God, put the right men in my room. However it looks, however it’s supposed to be, I’m trusting you, I’m going to view recruiting from that lens of. Just give me the right men in my room.”
The results didn’t quite come to fruition quickly.
“And two days later a kid commits to Georgia and cancels his OV,” Abeln said. “And the summer wasn’t great. And come December, whatever 4th or 5th, like things were looking pretty rough.”
But Abeln and the Tennessee staff kept the faith and persistence in hopes of success.
Fortunately for them, it was right around the corner.
Just about two weeks after that “pretty rough” December stretch that Abeln had mentioned, Tennesseee received a commitment from Notre Dame transfer tight end Holden Staes. Four days after Staes’ commitment, Abeln hauled in Tennessee’s lone tight end commitment in the 2024 class with Cole Harrison, who enrolled in Knoxville as a summer enrollee on Jun. 6.
Just a week after Tennessee defeated Iowa in the Citrus Bowl, Tennessee landed a commitment from four-star tight end Jack VanDorselaer from the 2025 class.
Then, on Jan. 13, Tennessee received a commitment from Alabama transfer tight end Miles Kitselman.
Within just about a month of that pretty rough stretch and a bowl game in the middle, Tennessee had landed four tight ends with three heading to campus before the start of the summer.
Things haven’t ended there, though.
Abeln and his team were able to flip a commitment from four-star Oregon tight end Da’Saahn Brame at the end of July to give the Vols their second four-star tight end prospect in the class alongside VanDorselaer. The two tight end prospects combine to make up for two of Tennessee’s top 10 commits in the class and two of Tennessee’s top five offensive players in the class.
“And as I look around the room now, man, like God answered that prayer for sure,” Abeln continued on to say. “I think for me, just having time with these guys to get to know guys, them to build rapport with us and then also there’ve been great kids in this cycle that really just naturally connect with.”
Between Davis, Staes, and Kitselman, Tennessee has a solid trio on campus for the 2024 season with unknown but optimistic potential. If Tennessee can hang out to their two highly-touted prospects, the Vols will have even more firepower down the road. But until then, though, Abeln is excited about what’s right around the corner for his group.
“It’s actually really nice to have three guys where even during practice you’re not worried about burning guys out, keeping guys fresh,” Abeln said. “We’ve got three guys that can play at a really high level right now. And getting to watch them compete for it has been awesome.”
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more on Tennessee football fall camp.
Tennessee TE coach Alec Abeln shares a story of faith and prayer on the recruiting trail on Thursday.
A great listen ⬇️ @rockytopinsider pic.twitter.com/moROoddbSC
— Ric Butler (@Ric_Butler) August 1, 2024
