For the former player from Notre Dame, the Vols defeated Oklahoma and Washington among other teams.
Tennessee has received a commitment from former Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes, who is ranked #1 among players at his position in the 247Sports Transfer Portal Rankings. Josh Heupel, the head coach, and his staff have made him their first pledge out of the portal this cycle.
This past fall, Staes, who is 6 feet 4 and 242 pounds, caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns for the Irish. According to 247Sports, he is ranked as the 15th best prospect overall.
Regarding his weekend trip to Knoxville, Staes gushed to GoVols247 insider Ryan Callahan.
The possibility I could see here, the value, and the fact that it was close to home were the three things I enjoyed most about it. Meeting with the coaching staff was great, and I particularly liked watching what the offensive linemen did with the tight ends on film. In addition, there’s the atmosphere that Tennessee provides—playing in front of a sizable audience in a massive stadium and, obviously, participating in SEC games that hold significance.
Staes also gave serious consideration to Washington and Oklahoma as additional universities.
Coming out of high school, 247Sports tabbed Staes as the nation’s No. 21 tight end in the 2022 class.
