Tennessee Vols tight ends coach Alec Abeln made a comment on Thursday after UT's second fall practice that will have NFL scouts paying a little closer attention to what happens in Knoxville this fall. 

NFL scouts know all about Tennessee players like Joe Milton, Bru McCoy, Dont'e Thornton, and Squirrel White. 

But there's a name they likely don't know about that they might want to start keeping an eye on. 

Abeln was asked on Thursday about true freshman tight end Emmanuel Okoye, a native of Nigeria that has played very little organized football. 

Okoye is regarded as an exceptional athlete, which is something that Abeln pointed out — with some strong wording — on Thursday while speaking with reporters. 

"He's got a chance to be the most athletic guy to ever play the position," said Abeln when asked about Okoye. "I truly believe that. He is as physically gifted as anybody 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."

Suggesting that Okoye could be the most athletic tight end ever is a pretty lofty compliment from Abeln. And even if Abeln doesn't end up being right about Okoye, that comment will still likely intrigue NFL scouts to the point that they make a trip to Knoxville to see Okoye's athleticism up close. 

By the way, Abeln isn't the only person at Tennessee that's been talking about Okoye's elite athleticism lately. 

Vols senior tight end Jacob Warren also made some comments recently about Okoye that mirror what Abeln had to say. 

"Emmanuel is one of the most pure athletes I’ve ever seen in my life," said Warren last month. "Being completely real, the way he runs, the way he jumps, cuts and move. Everything about him is super athletic, super twitchy."

Okoye probably won't play a big role in the offense as a true freshman in 2023 because still has a lot to learn when it comes to playing football — especially since he's going to be playing tight end (which has a steeper learning curve because of all the responsibilities). But he has a chance to be a star player down the road for Tennessee. 

There's a lot of projection involved with Okoye. But his level of athleticism is something that's incredibly rare. And that's enough to excite Abeln. It'll probably be enough to excite NFL scouts, too. 

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