Talented player who went off against Tennessee in 2023 will face the Vols again in 2024 while playing for new team
There wasn't much that went right for the UConn Huskies when they played the Tennessee Vols in Neyland Stadium last season. UConn left Neyland last November after getting beat 59-3. One of the few bright spots for UConn in the blowout loss was the play of tight end Justin Joly, who caught eight passes for […]
There wasn't much that went right for the UConn Huskies when they played the Tennessee Vols in Neyland Stadium last season.
UConn left Neyland last November after getting beat 59-3.
One of the few bright spots for UConn in the blowout loss was the play of tight end Justin Joly, who caught eight passes for 89 yards against the Volunteers.
Tennessee was impressed enough by Joly that they offered him a scholarship when he entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season.
Tennessee ended up pursuing other options in the portal (Holden Staes and Miles Kitselman), but they clearly took notice of Joly after his solid game in Knoxville.
Joly ended up landing at NC State this offseason, which means he'll face the Vols again in 2024 (Tennessee and NC State play in Charlotte this upcoming Saturday night, September 7).
"I'm excited about Justin, and I'm proud of him," said NC State head coach Dave Doeren on Monday when asked about Joly. "He's worked really hard. It's funny, we were watching UConn against Tennessee because they played him last year and he was in the film. He's done a good job developing since he's gotten here. I was like, 'dude, I saw you on film', he looked a lot smaller. And he's gained a lot of weight. He's beefed up his upper body, and because of that, you're seeing him be able to fit into the run game a certain way that allows him to be physical."
Joly is certainly a player that the Vols will have to pay attention to on Saturday night against the Wolfpack.
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