KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — What started out as a normal day of training camp turned into a practice to remember for tight end Eli Wolf.
As the redshirt sophomore walk-on squared off with his older brother Ethan Wolf, a senior tight end for the Vols, in Tennessee’s “Circle of Life” drill, head coach Butch Jones blew his whistle to start the drill. Eli and Ethan lunged towards each other only to be stopped right before contact by a second Jones whistle.
Jones then handed Eli Wolf a slip of paper announcing that he would receive a scholarship.
“Today wasn’t any different,” Wolf said. “I just thought I was going to another day of practice. They threw me in the ‘Circle of Life’ with Ethan and I was thinking about putting him on his butt. The last thing I was thinking about was getting put on scholarship right then.”
Like Eli, Ethan also had no idea his brother was about to receive a scholarship.
“Honestly, I found out when Coach Jones announced it,” Ethan Wolf said. “It was awesome being able to share that moment with him. He’s been here for over two years now and we’ve always been really close. I’ve seen how much work he puts in day-in and day-out. It was a very special moment to be able to share that with him, especially in the way that he was told.”
“We had the opportunity to award Eli a scholarship and he’s earned that playing for us,” Jones said. “I can’t say enough about him and what he’s meant to our program. He’s very deserving.”
It was a surreal moment for the Minster, Ohio, native.
“It was a shock,” Wolf said. “For the first five periods of practice, I was still just wandering around. I was up in the stars.”
A two-star prospect out of Minster High School, Wolf decided to forego scholarship offers from other NCAA Division I institutions to play alongside his older brother for the Orange and White.
“It’s obviously something I’ve thought about,” he said. “Every walk-on’s dream is to eventually mean enough to the team to the point where they do put you on scholarship.”
To the coaching staff and Team 121, Wolf’s consistency and work ethic in the weight room and on the field have been invaluable and played a part in the decision to award him a scholarship. Wolf’s contribution on special teams hasn’t gone unnoticed and Jones believes Wolf is now physically prepared to be a three-point or two-point tight end.
“We challenged him to put the weight on necessary to play tight end in this conference and he’s been able to do it,” Jones said. “He’s been a solid special teams performer for us and he creates some matchups for us on the offensive side of the football. He just works every single day.”
As Wolf’s role in the offense and his skill set continue to grow, the tight end is committed to becoming his own player.
“Obviously, my brother is here to show me the way,” he said, “but I’m a pretty self-driven person. He gives me a little kick if I ever need it, but I’m trying to mark my own path and pave my own way.”
A video of Wolf receiving the scholarship posted to Tennessee football’s Twitter account (@Vol_Football) received over 4,000 likes and close to 2,000 retweets in addition to being aired on SportsCenter Wednesday morning. Despite the new-found fame, Wolf isn’t letting it go to his head.
“I didn’t see the scholarship coming at all, but it’s not going to change the player that I am. I’m as competitive as ever. It was a total shock, but very exciting.”
-UT Athletics
