Tennessee senior tight end Miles Kitselman has been named to the John Mackey Award watch list, according to The Mackey Award Foundation on Friday.
The award is given annually to the best tight end in the sport, named after the late legendary Syracuse and NFL tight end John Mackey.
There are 45 student-athletes on the list, including 10 from the SEC: Miles Kitselman (Tennessee), Hayden Hansen (Florida), Luke Hasz (Ole Miss), Lawson Luckie (Georgia), Josh Cuevas (Alabama), Oscar Delp (Georgia), Brett Norfleet (Mizzou), Bauer Sharp (LSU), Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt), and Daequan Wright (Ole Miss).
The eight semi-finalists will be announced on Oct. 30, while the finalists will be revealed on Nov. 26. The winner of the 2025 John Mackey Award will be named on Friday, Dec. 12.
Expectations are high around Kitselman in his final year in collegiate football. He transferred to Tennessee from Alabama before the 2024 season and quickly made an impact as the Vols’ top tight end. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound player had the fifth-most receptions and the second-most touchdowns on Tennessee’s roster last year, tallying 301 yards and four scores on 22 catches.
With a year on Rocky Top under his belt, Kitselman is being looked at as one of the most important offensive players on Tennessee’s roster this year. He’s the on-field frontrunner in the tight end room, but has also taken a high leadership responsibility on the team. He was one of three student-athlete representatives for the Vols at SEC Media Days and was the only representative from the offensive side of the ball.
“I think he clearly established that he’s a guy that we can count on during the fall and understands there’s space for leadership this year,” Tennessee TE coach Alec Abeln said about Abeln at the start of fall camp. “And this team has taken it to heart.”
Kitselman is working his way back from an upper-body injury that was sustained in the spring. We have seen him go through drills during fall camp, albeit while wearing a red non-contact jersey, but he’s seemingly itching to get back into the swing of things when the season starts at the end of the month.
“Like you’d expect Miles to,” Abeln said about how Kitselman has handled his recovery. “He’s pissed at me half of the time because he wants to do more, and he’s gonna push that as hard as he can. He’s ahead of schedule and doing a great job with it, but just like you’d expect him to do it.”
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Kitselman projects to be a steady, primary target for whichever quarterback wins Tennessee’s QB battle during fall camp. On one hand, that’s because of his returning experience and the production that he put up with UT’s offense last season. On the other hand, though, barring a setback with his injury, he’s one of the only returning pass catchers with experience in this offense. Tennessee’s wide receiver room has been banged up during fall camp, but they also lean on the younger side.
Having a battle-tested SEC tight end like Kitselman is good for any quarterback, whether that be Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger, or even George MacIntyre.
While we’re talking about Kitselman here, Tennessee’s tight end room has been a pleasant surprise during fall camp. Ethan Davis appears to be taking another step entering his sophomore season, while true freshmen Jack Van Dorselaer and DaSaahn Brame look like two nice, developing pieces that Tennessee could potentially find a use for this season if needed.
Kitselman, clearly, is the top dog in that room. He’s also one of the top players at the position in the country, as evidenced by his nod on the 2025 John Mackey Award watch list on Friday.
Check out the full list here.
