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Tennessee football: Five things promoting Kelsey Pope to WR coach means for Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 2, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Cedric Tillman (4) celebrates with wide receiver JaVonta Payton (3) after scoring a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers during the second half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Cedric Tillman (4) celebrates with wide receiver JaVonta Payton (3) after scoring a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers during the second half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 13, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Power T on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Power T on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports /

Last week, Josh Heupel promoted from within to address the one staff change on Tennessee football. Wide receivers coach Kodi Burns left to take the same position with the New Orleans Saints. Ahead of spring practice, Heupel named Kelsey Pope to the role, promoting him up from an offensive analyst this past year.

Pope was a bit of a surprising hire, but the move says many things about Heupel and the program he is running. Despite not making a splash, those things could all be positive for Rocky Top and could bode well going forward if you look at the program’s past success.

Going forward, we can make an educated guess what this hire will do on and off the field based on past analysis. How it works out in the long run is up in the air, but there are plenty of reasons to applaud Heupel for this promotion. Let’s break down why. Here are five things promoting Pope means for Tennessee football.

5. Youth movement

At just 29 years old, Pope’s experience as a coach only goes back to 2017, and last year was his first season ever as part of an FBS program as a player or a coach. From 2010 to 2013, Pope played for the Samford Bulldogs. Then he spent a bit of time with the Arizona Cardinals before deciding to get into coaching.

He started coaching running backs with the Ohio Northern Polar Bears in 2017 before moving on to be the assistant receivers coach with the Shorter Hawks in 2018. In 2019, he became the receivers coach of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, and then he took a job as the passing game coordinator and receivers coach with the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs in 2020.

As a result, Pope has worn quite a few hats despite his limited experience. Add in his age, and he’ll be able to connect with players more while also helping on the recruiting trail, a big help for Tennessee football which leads to future takeaways on this post.

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