The Tennessee Vols made a wise position switch for a player ahead of fall camp

The Tennessee Vols made a position switch for an under-the-radar player ahead of fall camp that could pay major dividends.

Tennessee updated its football roster on Monday and one of the changes that was quickly noticed was Emmanuel Okoye moving from tight end to the defensive line.

Okoye, who is from Nigeria, is an extremely athletic player (he's 6-foot-5/243 lbs with a 45 inch vertical leap ) who is still very raw when it comes to playing football.

Last summer at SEC Media Days, former Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren raved about Okoye's athleticism.

"Emmanuel is one of the most pure athletes I’ve ever seen in my life," said Warren . "Being completely real, the way he runs, the way he jumps, cuts and move. Everything about him is super athletic, super twitchy. A guy that hasn’t been playing football for a long time so needs to kind of develop in the way of...in football there’s kind of a different language you talk."

Tennessee tight end coach Alec Abeln also praised Okoye for his athleticism ahead of the 2023 season.

"He is as physically gifted as anyone I've ever been around," said Abeln last August when asked about Okoye. "He's got to continue to make steps every day, but just from a raw athletic standpoint, the ceiling is unlimited."

Moving Okoye to the defensive side of the ball should allow him to be an athlete without worrying about all of the responsibilities associated with the tight end position. And that's not to suggest that it's "easy" to play along the defensive line -- Okoye will have to prove that he can handle the position before he sees the field -- but the tight end position is notoriously difficult to pick up in Josh Heupel's unique up-tempo offense.

There's no doubt that Okoye is a freak athlete. Now he just needs to show that he understands the defensive line position well enough to make an impact for the Vols on Saturdays in the fall. If he does, he could be a game-changer for Tennessee -- especially lining up opposite Vols superstar edge rusher James Pearce.

Related: Tennessee HC Josh Heupel and Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin provided an important reminder for college football fans this offseason