‘Some people are gonna under prepare for him’ – Tennessee has a player that’s going to be a matchup nightmare in the SEC in 2026
The Tennessee Volunteers have a player on their roster who isn’t getting talked about enough, and he’s going to be a matchup nightmare in 2026.
The Tennessee Vols have a player on their roster who isn’t getting talked about enough.
And he’s going to be a matchup nightmare in the SEC this fall.
Vols sophomore defensive lineman Ethan Utley was asked recently on the Rock Media YouTube channel who he thinks will be a breakout offensive player for Tennessee in 2026.
Utley quickly named sophomore tight end DaSaahn Brame.
“On offense, I’m taking DaSaahn Brame,” said Utley. “I’ve seen the kid hoop. I know what he’s capable of. The kid is a freak athlete. He runs routes like he’s a receiver, but he 240-something (pounds). He’s six-foot-five and he’s got good hands. He a good spot-up receiver.
“I’m not gonna say that he’s going to catch our fans sleeping, but I think some people are gonna under prepare for him. He’s more than capable of being a guy.”
Utley isn’t the first person this offseason to single out Brame as a player to watch this fall.
In May, VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs noted that Brame is at a “different level” physically this offseason.
“I think DaSaahn Brame is at a different level physically right now,” said Hubbs. “In terms of his strength and his growth — that’s helping him be a more complete tight end. I think he’s gotten off to a nice start. They need him to continue to grow there.”
Vols head coach Josh Heupel also praised Brame earlier this spring, specifically pointing out that he’s a natural route runner.
“He’s very natural as a route runner,” said Heupel of Brame. “He understands space, leverage, and being able to go up and high point with a big catch radius… He has definitely grown in becoming a complete tight end, of being able to play in the run game and protection, too. I am really excited about what he’s done.
“That’s a guy that missed a bunch of time with an injury coming out of high school. A year ago, he certainly grew through the course of the season as he got healthy. He got exposed to more things. I am expecting him to play a lot of football and play at a really high level.”
Could DaSaahn Brame be the No. 3 receiving option behind Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley?
There’s been a lot of talk about who Tennessee’s No. 3 wide receiver will be in 2026 (TK Keys, Radarious Jackson, and Travis Smith are the leading candidates). It could be Brame, though, who ends up being the No. 3 option in the passing game simply due to the fact that he’s a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. This is a guy who is too big to be covered by defensive backs, and he’s too good of a route runner to be covered by a linebacker. Brame is similar in size to former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, and they share a lot of the same traits.
I’m not saying that Brame is on the path to becoming a First-Team All-SEC tight end like Bowers was at Georgia — we just don’t know if that will be the case — but the Kansas native has the skill set to make that kind of impact for the Vols.