What a story.
Tennessee will welcome new starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and up and down the offensive line in 2025. One of the few familiar faces that will return will be tight end Miles Kitselman, who emerged seemingly out of nowhere early last season.
The Alabama transfer quickly took hold of the top spot on the depth chart, beating out the much more heavily recruited Holden Staes from Notre Dame. Kitselman, a JUCO product who played sparingly in Tuscaloosa, now finds himself with a potential NFL future.
Pro Football Focus named Kitselman as a 2026 draft-eligible tight ends to know heading into the fall.
Following a year at the JUCO level and two seasons at Alabama as a backup, Kitselman had a breakout senior year after transferring to Tennessee.
He finished 2024 as the seventh-most-valuable tight end in the nation, according to PFF’s Wins Above Average metric, and ranks fourth among returning tight ends. Kitselman was also one of four tight ends in the country with top-25 PFF grades as a receiver and a run blocker. He hasn’t dropped a pass in his career and is capable of displacing defenders in the run game at 256 pounds.
Kitselman has perfect size for the next level, checking in at 6-5, 255 pounds. He was a part of Tennessee’s big two tight end set shift early in the year, helping to pave the way for Dylan Sampson to have a record-breaking season. He was a decent contributor in the passing game too, catching 22 passes for 301 yards. Kitselman hauled in four touchdowns and scored another on the ground operating as a fullback.
Nico Iamaleava delivers a dart to Miles Kitselman and then has something to say about it. #Vols pic.twitter.com/a7UdtQKJRt
— Reece Van Haaften (@Reece_VH) November 30, 2024
He returns for one final season on Rocky Top, pairing up with Ethan Davis. That duo might help alleviate concerns surrounding the wide receiver depth chart, which remains as one of the top questions heading into the fall. Kitselman is working back from a shoulder injury which he had surgery on early in the spring. He’s expected to be ready to go for the season.
Whoever ends up winning the job under center for Tennessee, you can’t bet they’ll be leaning heavily on No. 87.