Tennessee football: Eli Wolf transferring to Georgia no big deal for Vols

Tennessee football tight end Eli Wolf is now transferring to the UGA Bulldogs. Here’s why his move to the Dawgs is no worry for the UT Volunteers.

One day after National Signing Day, Tennessee football got confirmation that it would lose one of its tight ends. Senior Eli Wolf, the brother of four-year starter Ethan Wolf, is transferring from the Vols to the Georgia Bulldogs, where he’ll finish out his final year of eligibility.

A former captain for the Vols, Wolf walked on to the program before earning a scholarship in 2017. He was named most improved player on offense after Jeremy Pruitt’s first spring last year and will play for the Bulldogs this upcoming season.

Once a two-star recruit, the tight end stands at 6’4″ 236 pounds and was used mostly as a blocker last year on Rocky Top. He has been in the transfer portal for a while now and announced his decision to transfer on Twitter.

Reading that post, everybody on both sides should come to an agreement about no bitterness between each other. Wolf was very classy in his letter and made clear his appreciation for the Vols. He simply went to a school that could use his talents more, and the Vols freed up roster space as they have better fits at tight end anyway. That’s not a slight, either.

Look, Wolf will probably do fine with Georgia. They are wide open at tight end and don’t have a lot of help there, and Kirby Smart could use him as a pass-catcher. He has proven he can do that. But, quite honestly, Tennessee football is not going to miss him.

With Jim Chaney back running the offense, he’s going to be focusing more on incorporating pass-catching tight ends into the offense. Remember Mychal Rivera in 2012? That has always been a focus of his offenses, and it means more plays with Dominick Wood-Anderson starting at the position given his player profile.

Wood-Anderson had 17 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns in that horrendous offense last year, and he is clearly the most talented receiver at the position. At 6’4″ 257 pounds, he also brings more size to the team than Wolf would.

As we said, Wolf was used as a blocker last year anyway. He only had five receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown. There is a chance he can be very effective, and Georgia gives him that chance, but there’s just too many other people available to play the position on Rocky Top.

After Wood-Anderson, Austin Pope is likely to see more minutes this year. Then there’s a collection of tight ends in James Brown, LaTrell Bumphus, Jacob Warren and Andrew Craig. Brown and Bumphus bring more potential than Wolf. When you add in the commitments of Sean Brown and Jackson Lowe, there was simply no room for Wolf.

Because of this, Vols fans do not need to worry about his departure. They’ll be fine at the position going forward anyway, and even if he does succeed at Georgia, it won’t be like Jeremy Pruitt missed out on some talent. We all saw that Wood-Anderson is a better player last year. With so much more depth in the program, Tennessee football will be fine. This is a move that will work out for everybody.