Tennessee kicked off fall training camp Aug. 2 at Haslam Field in preparation for the 2023 season.
The Vols will open 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 2023 season will be Tennessee’s third under head coach Josh Heupel.
Heupel guided Tennessee to a 18-8 (10-6 SEC) record and two bowl appearances from 2021-22.
Tennessee’s 2023 football schedule
Offensive skill position players can be defined as quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends and wide receivers.
2023 will be quarterback Joe Milton’s sixth and final collegiate season. Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava enters his first collegiate season after being the Vols’ highest-rated recruit in Tennessee’s 2023 signing class.
Following Tennessee’s first week during fall training camp, Vols Wire looks at the most intriguing offensive skill position players ahead of the season. Offensive skill position players, including running backs, tight ends and wide receivers, and excluding quarterbacks, are listed below.
McCallan Castles
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Tight end
Year: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: 34
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 252 pounds
*Transfer from UC Davis
“From McCallan’s UC Davis tape you see a playmaker, really athletic. 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.” –Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abelin on McCallan Castles
Ethan Davis
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Tight end
Year: Freshman
Jersey number: 86
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 232 pounds
“Just an attention to detail. I think a lot of times you can kind of get in the right area and kind of do the right thing, but when your feet are perfect and your technique is perfect, the detail of things has come a long way. I think some of that, he’s got to continue to take steps. It’s nowhere near where it will be, but when you really know what your assignment is, it allows you to focus on that stuff. When you’re swimming just trying to figure out where to line up and what to do, your technique has no shot. He’s gotten to the point this summer where with everything that is in currently, he knows what he’s supposed to do, where he’s supposed to be, how it’s supposed to look. Now he gets to focus on just doing it the way we want it.” –Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln on what he wanted to see from Ethan Davis over the summer and what he has seen during the first days of fall camp
Ramel Keyton
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Senior
Jersey number: 9
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 197 pounds
“He’s somebody who probably puts as much time, or more time, than anybody inside of our program into the extra work. You can come up here late at night and see him on the jugs. He cares and he prepares the right way. He’s continued to grow in what we’re doing and understanding our schemes. He’s continued to heighten his fundamental technique at the wide receiver position. That was a huge part of why he took advantage of the opportunity when Cedric Tillman went down last year and played at a really high level. I anticipate him continuing to do that and having a great training camp. I’m really excited about what he’s done in a short amount of time with us.” — Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel on Ramel Keyton
Bru McCoy
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: 15
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 220 pounds
*Second-year transfer from USC
“I just want to be the best teammate I can be, continue to grind and work, and do what I can do to help win games. Ultimately, just set more team goals than I do personal, and just go out there and have success.” —Bru McCoy on returning to Tennessee in 2023
Emmanuel Okoye
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Tight end
Year: Freshman
Jersey number: 27
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 230 pounds
“He’s got a chance to be the most athletic guy to play the position. 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.” –Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln on Emmanuel Okoye
Cameron Seldon
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Running back
Year: Freshman
Jersey number: 23
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 222 pounds
“He’s ran with good pad level. He’s transitioned from playing a lot out in space to being in the running back position really full-time. He’s continuing to grow in his understanding of how to press the line of scrimmage and understand how things are going to be brought from some different fronts.” –Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel on Cameron Seldon during 2023 spring practices
Jabari Small
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Running back
Year: Senior
Jersey number: 2
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 213 pounds
Father, Eddie Small, played wide receiver at Ole Miss from 1990-93. Uncle, Tony Small, was an All-SEC wide receiver at Georgia from 1996-98. His uncle, O.J. Small, was an All-SEC wide receiver at Florida from 2000-04.
Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Junior
Jersey number: 1
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 214 pounds
*Transfer from Oregon
“With Dont’e, really big guy that can run. He’s 6’4-plus. The day he steps on the field he might always be the fastest guy on the field. That guy can really roll. He does a great job of giving you position flexibility with what he has done and his ability to get in and out of breaks. He’s fluid, he can roll over the in-steps, he can do all of that type of stuff. He can read defenses from his time playing college football. He gives you a chance to move him all over the field and create mismatches.” –Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle on Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Jacob Warren
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Tight end
Year: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: 87
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 253 pounds
“I mean it changes everything in terms of, you knew that you had at least one guy who you could count on to go to war with, and at that point just trying to find the pieces of who else was going to be there with him. It really made it easier for us.” –Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln on Jacob Warren returning in 2023
Squirrel White
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Sophomore
Jersey number: 10
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 165 pounds
He cares. He’s really engaging. He likes to have fun. He comes out with a great energy every single day, competes really hard.” –Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel on Squirrel White
Jaylen Wright
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Position: Running back
Year: Junior
Jersey number: 0
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 210 pounds
“When you talk about the ability to separate from people when he gets to the second level, the speed jumps out at you about him. He’s so dynamic when he gets to the second level, it’s really hard to catch him.” –Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack on Jaylen Wright