Tennessee Vols suddenly have a superstar assistant coach that will be coveted by other programs
The Tennessee Vols suddenly have a superstar assistant coach on their staff that will likely be highly coveted after the 2023 season (perhaps by other programs and by the NFL). Wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope is entering his second season as Tennessee's wide receivers coach after spending the 2021 season as an offensive analyst for […]
The Tennessee Vols suddenly have a superstar assistant coach on their staff that will likely be highly coveted after the 2023 season (perhaps by other programs and by the NFL).
Wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope is entering his second season as Tennessee's wide receivers coach after spending the 2021 season as an offensive analyst for the Vols.
Pope replaced Kodi Burns, who served as Josh Heupel's wide receivers coach in 2021. Burns left Tennessee to take the same position in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints.
After just one season as Tennessee's wide receivers coach, I think it's safe to call Pope a superstar.
For starters, Pope has done an incredible job when it comes to the development of UT's wide receivers. He was on staff in 2021 working with Velus Jones, Cedric Tillman, Jalin Hyatt, and JaVonta Payton. And he continued that work in 2022 when he became the full-time wide receivers coach. The results don't lie. Three Vol wide receivers have been selected in the top three rounds of the NFL Draft over the last two years. And one of those receivers, Hyatt, won the Biletnikoff Award last season.
Pope is also killing it off the field, helping land a commitment from five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews last month. Tennessee is also in the mix for several other elite wide receiver recruits, including Ryan Wingo and Amari Jefferson.
Additionally, Pope was the lead recruiter for 2023 four-star wide receiver Nathan Leacock, a top 100 recruit.
Tennessee will almost certainly have to give Pope a major raise after the 2023 season. According to Football Scoop, Pope is earning $250,000 as the Vols' wide receivers coach in 2023. That's the second lowest salary among Tennessee's on-field assistants (new tight ends coach Alec Abeln is earning $243,750 in 2023).
Continuity is extremely important to Heupel so I'm sure he'll see that Pope gets his raise and sticks around at Tennessee for at least one more season. Eventually, however, Pope will receive an offer that's too good to pass up. Fortunately for the Vols, Heupel has shown that he's adept at identifying talented assistant coaches. But make no mistake, Tennessee will be suffering a big loss the day that Pope leaves Knoxville.
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Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
