Chattanooga Times Free Press

Castles hopes going from FCS to FBS is also a route to NFL

BY DAVID PASCHALL

Tennessee has produced the legendary NFL likes of Peyton Manning, Reggie White and Jason Witten, as well as the current collection of Alvin Kamara, Cordarrelle Patterson and Trey Smith.

Hence some of the reasoning in tight end McCallan Castles deciding to transfer to the Volunteers from the University of California, Davis.

“I’ve got one year left of college football, and I felt like I had hit my max potential playing FCS football,” Castles said this week in a news conference. “I’m grateful for the opportunities I got at UC

Davis, but if you want to play at the next level and take that next step, you’ve got to keep playing at a higher level of competition.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I belong in an NFL setting, and coming into the SEC at Tennessee allows me to practice against guys who are going to be there and play against guys who are going to be there.”

Castles began his college career in the Pac-12 at California, signing with the in-state Bears out of South Lake Tahoe High School as a top-20 tight end and a top-400 overall recruit in the 2018 class. His two seasons at

Cal consisted of five games that included one start and a 15-yard reception against TCU in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.

The 6-foot-5, 233-pounder then transferred and wound up thriving at UC Davis, earning All-Big Sky second-team honors the past two seasons, when he combined on 57 receptions for 734 yards and six touchdowns. Castles graduated this past December with a psychology degree before enrolling at Tennessee and going through Orange Bowl practices.

“He’s a smart kid,” Tennessee first-year tight ends coach Alec Abeln said. “He cares at a really high level and is doing everything we’ve asked him to. Playing in this offense is unique. There is a learning curve, but when it clicks, it really clicks. He wants it to be perfect right now, and it’s not going to be.

“If you make a mistake, put it aside and go to the next play. That’s something he’s got to continue to grow at, but he’s a really smart kid.”

Castles, whose father ran track at UC Riverside and whose mother played basketball at Idaho State, is part of a tight end room headed by sixth-year senior Jacob Warren and also containing four-star midyear enrollee Ethan Davis. The Vols have spent the past two seasons with Warren and Princeton Fant shouldering the load at that position, but Fant was a sixth-year senior last season.

Abeln would like to incorporate all three this fall, as the Vols typically use one tight end per possession due to their quick tempo without subbing, and Castles is simply wanting to be ready whenever an opportunity presents itself.

“I think I can do a little bit of everything like Jacob, but I’ve got to get a little more fundamentally sound with the blocking,” Castles said. “There are bigger guys in the FBS, and I’ve got to get used to that. I think I can run routes with anybody else, so hopefully I can take some reps off Jacob and get a good switch going.”

The Vols were off Wednesday and will conduct their sixth spring practice Thursday, which will also be Tennessee’s pro day.

Caravan returns

The “Big Orange Caravan” is returning to the Chattanooga Convention Center on Monday, May 1, and it is scheduled to feature athletic director Danny White, football coach Josh Heupel, and men’s and women’s basketball coaches Rick Barnes and Kellie Harper. Barnes was unable to attend last year’s gathering.

Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville will host the first three caravan stops April 18-20.

Tickets are $20 for each tour stop, which will have doors opening at 5 p.m. and the program beginning at 6:15, and they are available now at AllVols.com.

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2023-03-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

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