UConn tight end Justin Joly no longer taking visit to Tennessee
UConn transfer tight end Justin Joly will no longer be taking an official visit to Tennessee this weekend. Joly updated his recruitment in a post on social media on Thursday morning.
“I will not be going on an official visit to Tennessee this weekend,” Joly wrote, “things have changed and my weekend is now open.”
The Vols are still expected to host Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes on a visit this weekend.
I will not be going on an official visit to Tennessee this weekend things have changed and my weekend is now open
— Justin Joly (@jjoly_17) December 7, 2023
In UConn’s 59-3 loss at Tennessee in November, Joly caught eight passes for 89 yards with a long of 31.
He entered the transfer portal earlier this week. Over two seasons with the Huskies, the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder caught 74 passes for 828 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 11.2 yards per catch.
Joly had 56 catches for 578 yards and two touchdowns this season, after catching 18 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2022.
A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., Joly was a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle, ranked as the No. 278 wide receiver in the class and the No. 13 overall prospect in New York.
Staes, the 6-foot-4, 242-pound Staes spent the last two seasons with the Fighting Irish. He caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games this season, after catching one pass for 11 yards as a freshman in 2022.
He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Westminster School in Atlanta, Ga. He was ranked as the No. 9 tight end his class and was the No. 23 overall player in the state of Georgia. He was ranked No. 201 overall in the On3 ratings.
Tennessee tight ends McCallan Castles and Jacob Warren combined for 447 yards and eight touchdowns on 36 catches. Castles caught 21 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns and Warren had 15 catches for 182 yards and four touchdowns.
Ethan Davis will be a sophomore on Tennessee’s roster next season. The 6-foot-5, 232-pound Davis, out of Atlanta, Ga., was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle.
Davis was ranked No. 116 overall in the On3 ratings. He was the No. 6 tight end in the country and the No. 9 overall prospect out of Georgia.
Tennessee so far has lost five players to the NCAA Transfer Portal: Redshirt senior defensive back Warren Burrell; Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Mo Clipper Jr.; Redshirt senior defensive back Brandon Turnage; Freshman defensive back Jack Luttrell; Tennessee redshirt freshman Addison Nichols.
Some of the players offered by the Vols in the portal includes Middle Tennessee State defensive lineman Marley Cook, Texas A&M offensive lineman Remington Strickland and Rhode Island defensive back Syeed Gibbs.
