Alec Abeln talks second year jump for tight end DaSaahn Brame

Tennessee has some questions entering this season, but depth at the skill positions isn’t one of them. Particularly at tight end, where Tennessee lost Miles Kitselman, the Volunteers are locked and loaded with guys like Ethan Davis, Trent Thomas, DaSaahn Brame, Cole Harrison, Luca Wolf and Drake Martinez.

Easily the most coveted prospect of the group is Brame, who chose Tennessee over Oregon two recruiting cycles ago. The Derby, Kansas native was a 4-star prospect ranking inside of the top 50 overall by On3. Standing in at 6-5, 240 pounds, Brame is a matchup nightmare waiting to happen.

Going into year two and moving up a notch or two on the depth chart, Brame should have plenty more opportunities as a sophomore this season.

“One, just mastery of the offense, knowing what to do,” Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln said of Brame. “It’s hard to do anything at a high level until you feel really confident in what you’re doing. I think to the last point, man, the work that those guys have done in the weight room, um, on the field, those guys are moving better, they’re stronger, more explosive, allowing him to translate in the box a little bit more. And I’m really excited to see what he’ll do this camp.”

Brame, just like many others on the roster, is up ten pounds from last season’s listing. He appeared in nine games as a true freshman despite being buried at fourth on the depth chart. Brame ended up catching six passes for 63 yards, three of which came against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Interestingly enough, Brame was also used a bit as a slot option later in the year as the injuries piled up.

Tennessee has shifted to bigger lineups over the last couple of years, featuring multiple tight ends with plenty of success. A guy like Trent Thomas was brought in for his blocking ability, but that’s something Brame is going to have to be better at to consistently find the field.

“If we can’t protect, the coordinator has to call it differently,” Abeln said. “Really from a strength, physicality standpoint, that’s probably number one as far as earning trust is.

“I think that’s DaSaahn’s biggest jump right now and something that is probably really frustrating for him, but something he’s taken a lot of steps on and looks really good through two days without it. When you have put in the work in the weight room, and, like, DaSaahn was not weak a year ago, but being able to translate what you can do in the weight room to power on the field, that’s something that takes time, timing, sequencing and understanding how your technique plays into it.”

Tight end is one of those unique spots with a whole lot going on. You have to be involved in all aspects, both run and pass, blocking and catching. With Davis as a clear leader and Thomas having his specific situations, Brame is likely in for a situational role once again.

That’s something he has to embrace, and Abeln says Brame has done just that.

“Obviously DaSaahn is super talented, came in with a lot of expectations,” Abeln said. “There’s a lot of pressure on that with him as well, and for the first time in his life, he’s not the guy that’s playing the number of snaps that you want. And that’s really hard as a freshman. It’s really hard any transition time. But you can either mope about it and get sad about it, or you can use it to fuel you.

“I think he’s done a great job of working on the reasons why he wasn’t able to play as much as he wanted to last year and just approached it the right way, where you don’t have to wait around to be ready.”