While only entering his second season with Tennessee, veteran tight end Miles Kitselman has established himself as one of the top leaders and players on the Vols’ offense in his final season in the sport this fall.
With former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava as the starter last year, Kitselman led all tight ends with 301 yards on 22 receptions. He also caught the second-most touchdowns on the team with four last year.
But Kitselman will enter the 2025 season with a new signal caller this year. Whether it be transfer Joey Aguilar, redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger, or true freshman George MacIntyre, though, Kitselman is eager to go compete with his teammates.
While speaking with 3HL of 104.5 The Zone during SEC Media Days, Kitselman spoke about what Tennessee’s new trio of quarterbacks brings to the table that has him excited. His answer also gives a glimpse into why Tennessee might’ve faced some troubles at times with its previous quarterback.
“I would say being vocal,” Kitselman said about what Tennessee’s 2025 quarterbacks bring. “I think that’s probably the biggest thing we were missing last year. I mean, you’d come off a drive, go three and out, go three and out again, and it was like, ‘man, where is the voice on this team?’ And, it should’ve been me, but being my first year there, it was kind of like, man, I don’t know if I’ve proved myself enough to call some of these fifth-year seniors out who have been here for five years… These quarterbacks, all three of them, especially Joey and Jake, just being a little older, man, they are not afraid to rip into it. And I love it. I absolutely love it. And the second you have somebody who talks back, you’ve got five or six dudes, like myself, who are like, ‘nah, we’re not going with that. He’s right, you’re wrong. Get back in line.’ So I would just say the vocal part of it that I love, that we need.”
Kitselman’s comments suggest that the team’s vocal leadership from Iamaleava was lacking during tough stretches. But bad things can turn good, as it looks like the emphasis on getting back to a well-communicating offense has been a priority for the returning players this year.
The fifth-year senior didn’t talk too much about Iamaleava during his interview with 3HL, but did detail his experience going through the quarterback’s transfer situation during spring camp this past fall.
“I wouldn’t say surprised,” Kitselman said of his reaction to Iamaleava’s departure. Iamaleava skipped the Vols’ Friday practice before the Orange & White game last spring. “I was a little bit in the know. Just, you could kind of get the vibes, but I mean, just the way that you handle that is kind of like, I don’t know, I’ve talked about it a lot. But man, it’s just, leading up to that moment, there were a couple times where you just go missing for two days. No communication, no nothing. And then you have some leaders on the team that are like, alright, we’re over here busting, getting after it, and you just dip for two days. Like, man, come on. We can’t have that. But that’s about all I want to touch on Nico.”
“(Last year) it was like ‘where is the voice on this team?’ And it should’ve been me…(Now) these quarterbacks aren’t afraid to rip into it.”
Tennessee TE Miles Kitselman on the Nico Iamaleava departure & what’s different with the new #Vols QBs👀
WATCH: https://t.co/UC9EcSHmlC pic.twitter.com/HY1lbrqApo
— 3HL (@3HL1045) July 16, 2025
More From RTI: This Tennessee Football Defensive Lineman Could Have a ‘Breakout Season’
Aguilar didn’t practice with Tennessee during spring camp, but has made strides in connecting with his teammates since the first day he arrived in Knoxville. That’s something that stood out to Kitselman, who said during the 3HL interview that Aguilar is already a future wedding invite despite only knowing him for a month.
“Joey is one of those guys who has a very outgoing personality,” Kitselman said. “He walks into a room and is automatically friends with everybody. Whenever he first committed, I hit him up on Instagram and said, man, love to have you. Let’s go out and get a bite to eat and let’s get to know each other. We were just off since then. We get along super well. He gets along with everybody. Him and Jake and George, they all thrive together. They all compete with each other. And I don’t think we could have asked for a better dude.”
Aguilar’s vocal presence isn’t surprising, but it’s welcoming for a team that may have lacked that at times last season. Some of that comes from Aguilar being an older player, 23 years old, and having two starting seasons under his belt already from his time at App State.
During the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Mountaineers, Aguilar played in 25 games with more than 6,700 passing yards and 56 touchdowns in total. While it might not have been at the SEC level, Aguilar has gone through the fire of a college football season and, more importantly, knows what it takes to lead an offense throughout the course of the season.
Aguilar hasn’t been crowned the Vols’ starting quarterback yet, and he may not be. He’ll be in competition with Merklinger and MacIntyre this fall. But there’s certainly something enticing about the experience he brings to the table if his game can translate to the SEC and he can master the Vols’ offensive scheme before the season in a shortened timetable.
Plenty of storylines to go through when the Vols begin training camp this fall.
Check out 3HL’s full SEC Media Days slate here.
