Ethan Davis broke inside and all Chattanooga defenders could do was watch.
The Tennessee tight end, coming out of a break, caught a ball through a tight window from quarterback Nico Iamaleava, capping a moment Davis had long envisioned.
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It was Davis' first career touchdown and one that was a part of a near record offensive performance in the No. 15 Vols' 69-3 dismantling of the Mocs at Neyland Stadium last Saturday.
For Tennessee (1-0), it was an emphatic start to a season teeming with expectations. For Davis, it was more.
"You wait for that moment your entire time when you're playing offense here at Tennessee," Davis said. "Just being able to score that first touchdown in front of 102,000 (fans) is a dream come true. It was an amazing feeling."
The 6-foot-5, 246-pound Davis arrived at Tennessee a year ago as a highly touted tight end prospect with the abilities of a wide receiver, but it has taken some time for him to put that potential on display.
Davis missed his senior year at Collins Hill High School in Georgia because of a shoulder injury. He joined the Vols as an early enrollee in spring 2023 and stood out in the spring game only to injure himself on a catch down the sideline.
He was back to health by the fall, but was often the third player in the rotation in a veteran-laden tight ends room that included two seniors in Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles.
Tennessee's season opener on Saturday provided Davis with a stage and he delivered.
"(Timing) is extremely important. Especially being in the red zone," Davis said. "You only have a very limited amount of time before the defensive line is at the quarterback. You have to be moving fast and be decisive with your decisions. (Iamaleava) knew where I wanted the ball and In knew he was going to throw the ball. It was a good chemistry thing between us."
Sterner tests await the Vols, including this Saturday against No. 24 NC State (1-0) in the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC), but if anything could have been gleaned from Tennessee's first game it was chemistry offensively.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Josh Heupel, Tennessee players said about NC State
In Iamaleava's first game as the Vols' unquestioned starter, Tennessee finished just five yards shy of tying the program's single-game total offense record with 717 yards. Iamaleava threw two more touchdowns after his first to Davis, then set the program record for passing yards in a half with 314 before watching the entire second half from the sidelines.
The tight ends room flexed its chemistry, too.
Though Davis was expected to have a bigger role as a redshirt freshman, the coaching staff still pulled two tight ends from the transfer portal over the offseason in Holden Staes--who spent the previous two seasons at Notre Dame--and Miles Kitselman from Alabama.
Staes and Kitselman each played 25 offensive snaps while Davis was on the field for 18, a fairly even split for a position group that the coaching staff has touted as the deepest and most talented it has been over the last three years.
"Ethan (Davis) made some nice plays out in space. I thought (Staes and Kitselman) did a really good job in space as well," Heupel said. "All three of them played solid in the core, in the run game, and a couple of times were in protections as well. Like that group. We have to continue to grow and get better this week."
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