Tennessee football’s open date this Saturday provides a great opportunity for its staff to hit the road and check up on priority targets on the recruiting trail. With plenty of games starting this Thursday, the Vols’ coaches were able to get to some games as they look to continue to build relationships with the classes of 2026 and beyond.
In the case of UT tight ends coach Alec Abeln, he was right down the road on Thursday evening. He made his way to Oak Ridge for a playoff game to see 2027 four-star tight end Malik Howard.
Howard ranks as the No. 151 player in the class, according to 247‘s rankings. He is the No. 8 tight end in the cycle and No. 7 player out of Tennessee.
With Abeln in attendance, Howard came down with an impressive touchdown reception. Science Hill was able to pull off the upset to eliminate Oak Ridge, 35-31, though.
Blaine Stansberry @B_Stansberry1 lobs it up and @Malik_Howard81 comes down with the TD. @AthleticsOrhs leads 14-7 pic.twitter.com/3gL4mnbL3D
— PrepXtra (@prepxtra) November 7, 2025
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The Vols initially offered Howard back in June of 2024. Since then, he’s made the short drive to Tennessee multiple times, including a game day visit earlier this season.
Other teams pushing to land his talents include Texas A&M, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisville and Vanderbilt, all of which have already hosted him on unofficial visits.
Tennessee has three commitments in the 2027 class to this point, including a recent four-star offensive lineman, Princeton Uwaifo. The other two in the boat are three-star defenders in linebacker JP Peace and cornerback Kamauri Whitfield.
As far as tight ends, UT brought in a pair of highly-ranked recruits in DaSaahn Brame and Jack Van Dorselaer this past offseason. Both have played a good bit as true freshmen, with Van Dorselaer playing a significant role while Ethan Davis missed time with an injury.
In the 2026 class, the Vols just landed their lone tight end commitment of the cycle. Tennessee flipped three-star Luca Wolf from Cal. He plays for the NFL Academy in London.
