Watch: Vols’ tight ends coach Alec Abeln previews Tennessee-Kentucky game
First-year tight ends coach Alec Abeln met with media on Tuesday and discussed Tennessee-Kentucky game week.
Tight ends McCallan Castles and Jacob Warren have provided offensive production for the Vols through seven games.
Castles has recorded 11 receptions, 136 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, while Warren has totaled nine receptions, 75 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns for Tennessee.
Abeln’s media availability ahead of the Vols’ road contest at Kentucky can be watched below. Kickoff between No. 20 Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC) and Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and will be televised by ESPN. Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst) and Katie George (sideline) will be on the call.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound freshman tight end attended the NFL Academy in London, England.
First-year tight ends coach Alec Abeln discussed Okoye following Tennessee’s second practice during fall training camp on Thursday.
“He’s got a chance to be the most athletic guy to play the position,” Abeln said. “I truly believe that. He is as physically gifted as anyone I’ve ever been around. He’s got to continue to make steps every day, but just from a raw athletic standpoint, the ceiling is unlimited.”
Okoye is from Anambra, Nigeria. He is the second football student-athlete to sign with the Vols from Nigeria, joining Chris Akporoghene. Akporoghene was part of Tennessee’s 2019 recruiting class.
Tennessee assistant coach Alec Abeln discusses development of transfer tight end McCallan Castles.
Tennessee kicked off fall training camp on Wednesday in preparation for the 2023 season.
Redshirt senior tight end McCallan Castles transferred to Tennessee on Dec. 7, 2022 from UC Davis.
The 6-foot-5, 252-pound tight end played at UC Davis from 2021-22. He played and started in 28 games at UC Davis, recording 68 receptions, 928 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.
Castles transferred to UC Davis from California. He played for California from 2018-19.
“From McCallan’s UC Davis tape you see a playmaker, really athletic,” Abeln said. “You see a guy not afraid to stick his face in it. A guy that’s played in a bunch of different systems and knows football at a base level pretty well. This spring, kind of the same thing with Ethan (Davis), he’s trying to figure it out.
“He’s obviously older, he’s played a lot more, so he came a little bit cleaner form, but now that he knows what he’s doing, being able to really focus on the detail things and play fast.”
Everything Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln said after the Vols’ second fall camp practice.
Tennessee kicked off fall training camp under third-year head coach Josh Heupel on Wednesday.
The Vols practiced for a second time on Thursday at Anderson Training Center.
Tennessee will kick off its 2023 season versus Virginia on Sept. 2 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Kickoff between Tennessee and the Cavaliers is slated for noon EDT and will be televised by ABC.
The Vols will kick off its season Sept. 2 versus Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Kickoff between Tennessee and the Cavaliers is slated for noon EDT and will be televised by ABC.
First-year tight ends coach Alec Abeln met with media following the Vols’ second practice on Thursday.
Abeln will serve as the Vols’ tight ends coach in 2023. He served as an offensive analyst from 2021-22 at Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel.
“Alec has played an integral role in our offensive staff room over the past two years, and we are excited to elevate him to tight ends coach,” Heupel said. “Alec played for me and has been a part of our staff at multiple programs. He is detail-oriented with a relentless work ethic. He has built great relationships among our players and staff. Alec is eager to get on the field, and I know we will continue to raise the standard of our tight end unit under his watch.”
Abeln met with media for the first time Wednesday. His media availability can be watched below.
Abeln will serve as the Vols’ tight ends coach in 2023.
“Alec has played an integral role in our offensive staff room over the past two years, and we are excited to elevate him to tight ends coach,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said in a UT press release. “Alec played for me and has been a part of our staff at multiple programs. He is detail-oriented with a relentless work ethic. He has built great relationships among our players and staff. Alec is eager to get on the field, and I know we will continue to raise the standard of our tight end unit under his watch.”
Abeln played for Heupel at Missouri as an offensive lineman. Abeln launched his coaching career at UCF in 2019 as an offensive graduate assistant under Heupel.
He served as an offensive analyst from 2021-22 at Tennessee.
Josh Heupel discusses Tennessee analysts Alec Abeln and Mitch Militello being great young coaches.
Mitch Militello is in his first season as a quarterbacks analyst at Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel.
Militello served as an offensive graduate assistant at UCF under Heupel from 2018-20. He also served as a student assistant at Missouri when Heupel was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2016-17).
Alec Abeln played for Heupel at Missouri as an offensive lineman. Abeln launched his coaching career at UCF in 2019 as an offensive graduate assistant under Heupel and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby.
Abeln served as an offensive graduate assistant under Lebby at Ole Miss in 2020 on Lane Kiffin’s staff. Abeln rejoined Heupel at Tennessee as an offensive analyst in 2021.
Heupel discussed having Abeln and Militello being part of Tennessee’s program.
“For us, two guys that has been with me for a long time, Mitch being a student assistant and Alec having played for me,” Heupel said of Abeln and Militello on the SEC teleconference Wednesday. “Having a great understanding of the culture you are trying to build inside the program.
“Great competitors, just who they are and the energy they bring inside the building every day, and their ability to be cohesive with us is really important. Two great young coaches.”
Mitch Militello, Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols WireAlec Abeln, Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
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