Tennessee assistant coach Alec Abeln prayed for recruiting help. He believes it worked

Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln had a rough start in recruiting after getting his first job as an assistant in 2023.

Abeln couldn’t close the deal on four-star prospect Jaden Reddell, one of the best tight ends in the 2024 class. Reddell canceled his official visit to Tennessee and signed with Georgia in December.

And Jonathan Echols, another four-star tight end, signed with South Florida after being committed to Tennessee for 17 months. Notably, South Florida’s coach was Alex Golesh, the former UT tight ends coach/offensive coordinator that Abeln had replaced.

It was a discouraging time for Abeln, who was only 27 years old when UT coach Josh Heupel promoted him from offensive analyst to tight ends coach in February 2023.

So Abeln sought a higher power to turn his losses into wins in recruiting.

“I was sitting in church like early May. And we have a prayer card, 21 days of prayer, and I wrote down ‘recruiting’” Abeln said. “And I had a little note typed up in my phone that just said, ‘Hey God, put the right men in my room. However it looks, however it’s supposed to be, I’m trusting you.

“I’m going to view recruiting from that lens of ‘just give me the right men in my room.’”

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Ablen landed tight ends out of transfer portal

Abeln believes his prayers were answered. And there’s evidence to suggest he’s right.

UT added Notre Dame transfer Holden Staes and Alabama transfer Miles Kitselman through the transfer portal this offseason. They both said their comfort level with Abeln had an impact in their decision.

And redshirt freshman Ethan Davis has developed into an athletic tight end who should factor into UT’s passing game.

“As I look around the room now, man, like God answered that prayer for sure,” Abeln said. “… Also, there’ve been great kids in this (recruiting) cycle that really just naturally connect with.”

Then Abeln landed two top-20 tight ends in recruiting

Abeln then got those recruiting wins for which he had prayed.

In January, four-star tight end Jack Van Doreslaer committed to Tennessee. He chose the Vols over scholarship offers from Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Florida and Notre Dame, among others.

And on Sunday, four-star tight end Da’Saahn Brame flipped his commitment from Oregon to Tennessee.

Brame and Doreslaer are the No. 5 and No. 18 tight ends, respectively, in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports Composite.

Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio State and Miami are the only schools with two top-20 tight ends committed in the 2025 class.

How Abeln’s easy-going personality is winning recruits

Some coaches are natural salesmen. But most of recruiting is a learned skill, and Abeln had to go through growing pains.

Abeln played under Heupel and UT offensive line coach Glen Elarbee as an offensive lineman at Missouri. And he has a likable, mild-mannered demeanor like both of those coaching mentors. Players often like playing for coaches with that personality, but it doesn’t always translate immediately in recruiting.

So Abeln has been a work in progress.

Abeln served as a graduate assistant at Missouri in 2018 and then at Ole Miss in 2020 under Lane Kiffin. Then Abeln worked under Heupel as a graduate assistant at Central Florida in 2019 and as an offensive analyst at Tennessee in 2021-22.

In 2023, Abeln struggled in his first recruiting cycle as tight ends coach. But he has flourished in this second go-around.

“I think with anything, the more you do it – like I’m going to work hard at whatever I do. And I don’t think effort had anything to do with last year,” Abeln said. “But as far as just the guys that got in my room in December and January, looking around even this spring is like holy cow.

“And you look at guys that we got coming on deck (in the 2025 recruiting class), we have a chance to be really special.”

Tennessee will start the 2024 season with a strong trio of tight ends. But those four-star recruits can’t sign with the Vols until Dec. 4, when the early signing period begins.

Until then, Abeln will have to keep praying that Tennessee closes out the best recruiting class of Heupel’s tenure.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee assistant coach prayed for recruiting help. He believes it worked