KNOXVILLE – James Wolf jokes that if he had the rights to print apparel branded with the University of Tennessee logo at the sporting goods store he owns in Minster, Ohio, he probably could be a millionaire.
Nearly 350 miles away from Knoxville in the heart of Big Ten country, the Tennessee tight end duo of brothers Ethan and Eli Wolf give most people in the rural town of 2,800 a reason to wear orange and pull for the Volunteers.
“We’ve only had a few Division I athletes in football over the 75 years they’ve had football,” James said Wednesday. “So to have two on the same team that happen to be from the same household is pretty special. Obviously, being their dad is pretty special to me.”
Now both of those former Minster High School stars from the same household have full athletic scholarships.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones surprised Eli Wolf, a redshirt sophomore, by awarding him a scholarship in the middle of a drill early in Tuesday’s practice.