With the transfer portal now closed until later in the spring, Tennessee football has concluded their class ranked as the No. 22 in the country and No. 10 in the SEC. The Volunteers will be bringing in just eight commits from this cycle, while sending 12 out. The eight transfers consist of four three-stars and four four-star players.
Most transfers are usually transferring because of a lack of playing time, believing they are being overlooked by other players on the roster. They’re out to prove that’s not the case, at least they should be. In the Volunteers’ eight incoming transfer commits for the 2024 cycle, every one of them you could say has the most to prove, yet there’s one in particular who just might have more than others. That being former Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes.
Holden Staes is a former four-star prospect and the No. 21 tight end in the country and No. 37 player in the state of Georgia. Coming to the Tennessee football program as a transfer, he held on to his four-star status, but was the No. 29 overall player in the portal but No. 2 tight end, according to 247sports.
Though Tennessee Volunteers fans probably looked at Staes’ star rating and prospect abilities and got excited, I’d argue that the former Fighting Irish Notre Dame player still has a lot to prove.
Minus one catch for 11 yards his freshman year, Staes’ statistics start last season as a sophomore. In 11 games with the Fighting Irish — he missed the final game against Stanford with a shoulder injury — Staes had just 15 receptions for 176 yards at 11.7 yards per catch, with four touchdowns on 369 snaps. This can only mean that Staes has a ton of upside to him, though having four touchdowns in just 15 receptions isn’t too shabby at all.
Of course, Staes was behind junior tight end Mitchell Evans all season last year, who had nearly double the numbers. Plus, there was also sophomore Eli Raridon, junior Davis Sherwood, and freshman Cooper Flanagan, who all had some production of their own.
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