Vols Commit to Miss 2022 Season With Injury

2023 Tennessee tight end commitment Ethan Davis will miss his senior season at Collins Hill (Ga.) due to a torn labrum. The versatile tight end commitment announced the news on social media earlier this morning. 

In June, Davis told Volunteer Country his recruitment process was shut down after Ole Miss had attempted to make a strong push for him. 

"Things have really been shut down for a little bit," Davis said of his recruiting process. "I am just really starting to express it more lately. Really, since last March when all of this recruiting stuff started picking up, Tennessee never stopped," Davis said of why he has closed out all of the recruitment process and is focused on Knoxville. "Really, Coach Golesh, we had a good relationship, but it just took another step. I look at him and know that I trust him with everything."

For Davis, after he committed, several months went by before he was able to get back to Tennessee's campus because of his basketball season. He recently returned, and that visit quickly reminded him of why Tennessee is the right fit for him.

"It was really important because the last Junior day they had, I couldn't go because of basketball," Davis said of the importance of his latest trip to Knoxville at the end of May. "That was really my first time being around the other commitments and top prospects, so it was a great time."

Davis finally was able to meet Tennessee quarterback commitment Nico Iamaleavea in person in June, and the two hit it off during the trip to Las Vegas

"He is a cool dude; he is really chill," Davis said in June. "He is laid back, and he is always texting back in the group messages and things like that. He is just a cool dude."

When Davis committed to Tennessee in December, he had no idea who would be the quarterback of the 2023 recruiting class for the Vols. Once Iamaleava committed in March, it helped further solidify Davis's decision to choose Rocky Top.

"Oh, that was just another reason to add to the mountain of reasons why I wanted to be there," Davis said about the impact of Iamaleava's commitment on his thought process as other teams worked to try to steal him from Tennessee. "That just added to it all. Those reasons just kept adding up reason after reason for why I need to be at Tennessee." 

Collins Hill is set to kickoff their season on Saturday at 4 pm ET. Davis was expected to be the top target for the returning state champions. 

Davis was recently rated as the No.2 tight end and No.40 overall prospect in America by Sports Illustrated All-American.