Kitselman becomes latest to suit up for Tide, Vols
Tennessee senior tight end Miles Kitselman is in his one year with the Volunteers but already has quite the Neyland Stadium experience.
Which results in mixed emotions to this day.
Kitselman began his college career at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College in 2021, and was in his first of two seasons at Alabama in 2022. The 6-foot-5, 253-pounder from Lyndon, Kansas, traveled to Knoxville and witnessed Tennessee’s 52-49 topping of the Crimson Tide on Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal as time expired.
It was the only time the Vols knocked off Alabama during Nick Saban’s 17 seasons guiding the Tide.
“It’s the best game I’ve ever been a part of, but the outcome for me where I was at wasn’t what we wanted,” Kitselman said this past weekend in a news conference. “I got to see what the SEC was like. I got to see what the Bama-Tennessee rivalry was like. I know it goes back years and years, and I got to see how seriously people take it.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The Vols were off Monday and will practice Tuesday, Thursday and Friday before conducting their Orange & White Game on Saturday afternoon.
Kitselman had two receptions for 18 yards in Alabama’s opening 55-0 rout of Utah State in 2022 but never caught another pass for the Crimson Tide in his 19 appearances over those two seasons. He is one of two tight ends Tennessee added this past winter via the transfer portal, with the other being Notre Dame’s Holden Staes. “I’m really excited about Miles,” Vols second-year tight ends
coach Alec Abeln said. “All that guy does is work. We knew he would stick his face on people, and we knew he would be physical, but I think what he’s done in space is not necessarily a surprise but has been pleasant. He’s just done a really good job for us and works his butt off every day.
“Having two guys come in who have everything you want has been really cool.”
Kitselman played left tackle as a senior in high school but also played basketball, so he always felt his hand-eye coordination lent itself more to tight end on the football field. Hutchinson was the only school that offered him the opportunity to play tight end, but his 2021 season consisted of just two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown.
As the biggest tight end on Tennessee’s roster, Kitselman knows he will be viewed as a blocker first but hopes to change that from time to time.
“I love getting out on a route,” he said. “I just know that we all kind of complement each other. We’re all close, and there is no beef as far as who’s going to start. We’re just trying to help each other out.”
Kitselman certainly wouldn’t be the first football player to suit up for both Alabama and Tennessee during his career.
Former center Brandon Kennedy spent the 2018-20 seasons at Tennessee after spending the 2015-17 seasons at Alabama. Defensive back Brandon Turnage played for the Crimson Tide in 2019-20 and for the Vols the past three seasons, while Henry To’oTo’o was a Tennessee linebacker in 2019-20 and an Alabama linebacker in 2021-22.
“I just got that family feeling of how I was going to get treated here and taken care of,” Kitselman said. “Everyone is so inviting and so genuine. I felt like this was a great fit for me.”
VOLS LOSE JEFFERSON AFTER GUARD ENTERS THE TRANSFER PORTAL
Tennessee redshirt freshman guard D.J. Jefferson is entering the NCAA transfer portal after playing in just one game this past season.
The 6-foot-5, 209-pounder from Richardson, Texas, competed for three minutes in Tennessee’s opening 80-42 rout of Tennessee
Tech inside the Food City Center on Nov. 6. Jefferson made his only 3-point attempt and finished with three points and two rebounds.
A four-star member of Tennessee’s 2022 class, Richardson sat out the 2022-23 season.
Richardson averaged seven minutes a contest and made one start in Tennessee’s trip to Italy last August for three exhibition games. He missed some of preseason practice, however, for disciplinary reasons.
The Volunteers went 27-9 this past season and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, but five guards from that team have moved on — Dalton Knecht, JosiahJordan James, Santiago Vescovi, Freddie Dilione V and Richardson. Knecht, James and Vescovi were each fifth-year seniors and out of eligibility, while Dilione entered the transfer portal last week.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfree press.com.