Vanderbilt football received big news on Wednesday when quarterback Diego Pavia’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would make him eligible to play in 2025 was approved. The grounds for the approval was that the NCAA can’t count years of junior college against a player’s eligibility.
For Pavia, that means the two years the quarterback played at the New Mexico Military Institute won’t count against his NCAA eligibility.
While the news benefits one of the Vols’ SEC rivals, it could also be good news for Tennessee football. Starting tight end Miles Kitselman is a senior this season but he played his first college season at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.
Kitselman will still have to apply for the additional year of eligibility but if he chooses to do so he will likely receive the season by the same standard that Pavia is getting an extra season of eligibility.
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The 6-foot-5, 256-pound tight end has been an instant impact player since transferring from Alabama to Tennessee this offseason. Kitselman started in all 12 regular season games for Tennessee this season where he caught 21 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown on a fullback dive against Georgia.
Kitselman enters the postseason third on the team in touchdowns behind Dylan Sampson and Dont’e Thornton while also being fifth on the team in receptions and receiving yards.
Tennessee has played three tight ends this season with backups Holden Staes and Ethan Davis each having at least one remaining year of eligibility. The Vols also signed blue-chip tight end Da’Saahn Brame from Derby High School in Kansas earlier this month.
If the Vols are able to keep all four tight end on their roster next season, it would be by far the best tight end room that Tennessee has had under Josh Heupel.
