Tennessee tight end Holden Staes committed to Indiana football on Thursday afternoon, On3’s Hayes Fawcett first reported.
Staes commits to the Hoosiers exactly two weeks after announcing his intentions to enter the transfer portal. The Atlanta native was one of the five Tennessee players that remained with the team and played in the College Football Playoff before entering the portal.
Staes enters the transfer portal after spending just one season at Tennessee and catching 15 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown in the Vols’ win over North Carolina State.
The junior tight end was an off-and-on starter for Tennessee alongside Miles Kitselman but he played a major role in every game this season. With Tennessee playing more 12 personnel, Staes got more playing time. He totaled 427 snaps over the course of the season and earned a 57.7 PFF grade.
With the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to junior college athletes and senior Miles Kitselman subsequently announcing that he’s returning for the 2025 season, Staes departure makes sense. The Vols will enter 2025 with Kitselman and Ethan Davis as their top two tight ends.
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Staes played his first two college seasons at Notre Dame before transferring to Tennessee last offseason. He played sparingly as a freshman in 2022 but had a solid 2023 season for the Fighting Irish, catching 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns.
Tennessee is also bringing in a pair of blue-chip freshmen tight ends including Da’Saahn Brame and Jack Van Dorselaer. The Vols could look to add another tight end in the transfer portal if they don’t want to have to rely on a freshman to be its third tight end next season.
Staes joins an Indiana program that was the nation’s most improved last season. After going 3-9 under Tom Allen in 2023, first year coach Curt Cignetti led Indiana to an 11-2 (8-1 Big 10) record and a birth in the College Football Playoffs.
The Hoosiers’ season came to an end in the first round of the playoffs against Notre Dame. Staes will look to get Indiana back to the playoffs for a second straight year in 2025.
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