A true freshman that Tennessee will be counting on the rest of the season quietly made a key play on important drive in win over Arkansas
A Tennessee Vols true freshman is starting to see more playing time at a position where the team doesn’t have a lot of depth.
A true freshman was involved in one of the biggest plays of the game in Tennessee’s 24-17 win over Arkansas this past Saturday.
With just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Vols started a drive on their own six-yard line with the score tied at 17.
Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop rushed for 59 yards on the first play of the drive, instantly putting the Volunteers in scoring range.
Bishop’s big run was aided by a key block from true freshman tight end Luca Wolf.
In the clip below, you can see Wolf (No. 87), who is lined up in the backfield, get a block on Arkansas linebacker Bradley Shaw (No. 7). That block allows Bishop to get upfield, where he’s able to make a defender miss before picking up chunk yardage.
That was an important moment in the game and Tennessee trusted Wolf in that spot.
Wolf is the No. 3 tight end on the Vols’ depth chart following the season-ending injury that Ethan Davis suffered against Georgia Tech in Week 2.
Vols tight end coach Alec Abeln said before the start of the season that Wolf had “absolutely given himself a chance to be a real contributor this fall.”
Wolf is certainly making the most of that chance as he’s starting to see his playing time increase in recent weeks.
The native of Austria played 21 snaps against Arkansas after playing only seven snaps against Auburn the previous week.
Tight ends are extremely important in Tennessee’s offense (specifically in the run game). Wolf stepping up as a viable option behind Trent Thomas and DaSaahn Brame won’t get much attention compared to the quarterback situation, but it’s a very positive development for the Volunteers.
