McCallan Castles’ eyes turned up field and locked in on Bru McCoy.
After sidestepping one Austin Peay defender and shrugging off another, Castles couldn’t help by admire McCoy’s downfield block that cleared his path to the end zone and his first Tennessee career touchdown.
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"Made one guy miss and I just saw Bru putting a guy in the end zone," Castles said. "I think that is more impressive than the touchdown itself, the fact that he drove that guy 40 yards in the end zone. It is a great block. That is why he is probably going to be playing on Sundays because that dude just plays hard and he gives effort for everybody, even on plays he is not getting the ball."
As impressive as McCoy's block was, the play from Castles displayed the kind versatility and athleticism that the coaching staff touted during the offseason and his score provided some breathing room in a surprisingly pedestrian performance from the Vols' offense in a 30-13 win.
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It also showed the impact the UC Davis transfer has already made in Tennessee's tight ends room.
"How (Castles) prepares and the athlete that he is kind of shows up in that moment," tight end Jacob Warren said. "He was able to make one miss and step out of one and then accelerate and get to the end zone. It was really special...It's cool for him to step up and make a play like that."
"(Castles) is athletic, he’s explosive,” tight ends coach Alec Abeln added. “Stepped out of one on Saturday that he got brought down on the first week but was great to see. We expect that from him.”
The game didn't have a promising start for Castles, who dropped a Joe Milton III pass in the first half that was behind him but catchable.
Where his athleticism showed on the touchdown catch and run, his experience as a sixth-year player was evident after the drop.
"You have to park it and reset," Castles said. "Stuff is going to happen. It's football. It's never going to be perfect. You just have to move on to the next-play mentality and come back."
Castles' contributions haven't been limited to pass catching, though.
When he arrived at Tennessee last spring, he wanted to improve as a blocker and absorbed what he could from Abeln, who previously worked with the offensive line and played the position at Missouri before embarking on a coaching career.
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Castles' blocking has helped pave the way for a strong start to the season for the Vols' run game. According to Abeln, he is a different player than he was six months ago.
“As far as him learning and being hungry for knowledge, it’s a credit to him and the work that he’s put into it,” Abeln said. “There are some things with my background that naturally make a lot of sense to me that when you hear it for the first time, maybe changes how you view certain blocks, certain techniques. It’s really a credit to him and the work that he’s put into becoming more comfortable with that.
"I think if you asked him, going back to the spring, a lot of the stuff that he looks pretty solid at right now, you’d be scratching your head saying, ‘Man, I don’t know if he’s going to figure it out come (fall camp),’ but it’s been a lot of work and an intentional mindset from him to get better in those areas.”
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