DaSaahn Brame immediately became one of Tennessee's most important players when tight end Ethan Davis suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
Brame, a sophomore tight end, should make the biggest jump in the depth chart to replace Davis. But others could factor in as the Vols try to retool their offensive plan after losing a valuable player.
Davis suffered the knee injury in the Vols' 45-24 win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 12. Coach Josh Heupel announced on Sept. 14 that he will miss the remainder of the season.
Davis is the fifth UT player to suffer a season-ending injury, joining starting safety Edrees Farooq (knee), backup receiver Joakim Dodson (leg), reserve linebacker Jaedon Harmon (knee) and Miami transfer cornerback Jadais Richard (upper-body).
It’s a costly loss. Davis, a senior starter, caught a TD pass in each of UT’s first two games. And he’s been an effective blocker in the Vols’ rushing offense, which ranks sixth nationally.
No. 14 Tennessee (2-0) plays Kennesaw State (1-1) on Sept. 19 (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium. Here’s how it could attempt to replace Davis.
DaSaahn Brame seamlessly slides into Ethan Davis role
The ideal situation would be for Brame to serve as a 1-for-1 replacement for Davis. But that’s probably asking too much of the young tight end.
After all, Davis was an every-down tight end, a talented receiver, an in-line blocker and an H-back when the Vols put their tight ends in the backfield.
Brame is a talented downfield receiver. And in the Georgia Tech game, he had key blocks to spring a couple of long touchdown runs. He’s an improved blocker who bulked up to 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, but that part of his game is still a work in progress.
Heupel is hopeful that Brame could assume much of Davis' role.
“DaSaahn’s got the ability to play out in space and play in the core, very similar to Ethan," Heupel said. "You look at the last run (in the Georgia Tech game) by Daune (Morris), DaSaahn is doing a great job inside the core on the second level. So we've got a ton of trust in him. That’s a credit to his development over the last year.”
Trent Thomas, already a blocker, catches more passes
South Alabama transfer Trent Thomas leads UT tight ends with 58 offensive snaps because he’s been an effective blocker. That was supposed to be his role as a 6-5, 254-pounder playing along with Davis, a versatile tight end.
But now UT might add some receiving routes to Thomas’ plate. He had only four receptions at South Alabama last season. He had two catches for 13 yards in his Vols debut against Furman in Week 1.
In-season competition for third tight end spot
Freshman Luca Wolf and junior Cole Harrison could see increased playing time. They have played 20 and 12 offensive snaps, respectively, this season.
Wolf is a physically gifted athlete from Vienna, Austria. The Vols discovered him as a promising prospect from the NFL UK Academy near London. UT Martin transfer Drake Martinez is behind them on the depth chart at tight end.
Offense could go with three wide receivers more often
The Vols have successfully incorporated formations with two tight ends the past few seasons. Sometimes that’s been in traditional sets. And other times they’ve put one or both tight ends into the backfield as H-backs.
That creativity led to Davis catching two TD passes. It also helped push the ground attack to averaging 314 yards rushing per game.
But Heupel must consider if his offense would benefit from primarily using three wide receivers and only one tight end. Brame is a better receiving tight end, and Thomas is a strong blocker.
Of course, that would take away UT’s versatility that it enjoyed with Davis on the field. Rest assured, the Vols will experiment with replacement plans.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: These Tennessee tight ends replace Ethan Davis after season-ending ACL injury
