Tennessee Vols give walk-on Eli Wolf, brother of UT tight end Ethan, a scholarship

Eli Wolf was a big winner in the circle of the life drill on Tuesday. 

As Tennessee's sophomore tight end squared off against older brother Ethan during practice at Haslam Field, Eli was informed by UT coach Butch Jones that he was receiving a scholarship.

"I was thinking about putting (Ethan) on his butt," Eli said. "The last thing I was thinking about was getting on scholarship. For the first five periods of practice, I was still wandering around. I was up in the stars. It was a surreal moment."

Eli Wolf made one catch last season for 8 yards against Tennessee Tech.

In three seasons, Ethan Wolf, a senior tight end, has 67 receptions for 752 yards and four touchdowns.

The two brothers are from Minster, Ohio. Eli was a two-star recruit and Ethan was rated a 3-star by 247Sports.

"As a dad I struggle to find anything more rewarding than seeing my kids' perseverance and dedication be rewarded, and this is obviously a very special day for Eli and our family," James Wolf, the father of Eli and Ethan, told USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. "My wife, Shelly, and I value the lessons that can be learned in sports and this is a prime example of something that will be remembered for a very long time. We are very thankful to Butch Jones and Coach (Larry) Scott and the rest of the coaching staff and administration for having the confidence in Eli and to take this step to reward him. 

"Thanks to the many many kind folks in Vol country that have been so wonderful to our family these past three-and-a-half years since Ethan walked on campus. While we may not win every game on the field it's great to know such wonderful lessons can we learned off of it as well." 

Phil Kaplan contributed to this story.