Tennessee loses key starter for remainder of season

Tennessee Volunteers tight end Ethan Davis. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tennessee loses key starter for remainder of season

By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Sep 14, 2026 1:03 PM ET

The Tennessee Volunteers are off to a 2-0 start this season with wins over Furman and Georgia Tech.

Tennessee moved up three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after a 45-24 blowout win on the road against Georgia Tech, and the Vols face Kennesaw State in Week 3.

However, on Monday, head coach Josh Heupel had a crushing injury announcement. Starting tight end Ethan Davis has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.

Josh Heupel said Vols TE Ethan Davis has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) September 14, 2026

Davis is in his fourth year with the Vols, and he had 21 catches for 257 yards and two touchdowns in 2025.

This season, Davis already had three catches for 43 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with one in each game.

Although Tennessee has run the ball quite a bit this season, Davis still had a key role in the offense. He finished second on the team in receptions and yards in Week 2.

With Davis out for the season, the next tight ends on Tennessee's depth chart are DaSaahn Brame and Trent Thomas. Brame had one catch for seven yards against Georgia Tech, and Thomas had two catches for 13 yards in the win over Furman in Week 1.

This marks the fifth season-ending injury for Tennessee already. The Vols will try to continue their winning streak despite another unfortunate update.

Matt Wadleigh

Matt Wadleigh is based in California and born and raised in the San Diego area. He studied print journalism at Fresno State for college and got to watch Paul George, Derek Carr and Davante Adams play in a Bulldogs uniform. His work has been featured at ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Sporting News, and various USA Today sites, including UCLA Wire, where he was the first managing editor

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