Another promotion for a Tennessee football assistant coach leads the discussion between Caleb Calhoun and Dave Hooker for Off The Hook’s Friday, Feb. 3 podcast. The two also discuss which signees in the Vols’ 2023 recruiting class are most likely to play early and are joined by former UT safety Fred White.
Alec Abeln promoted to Tennessee football tight ends coach
On Thursday, reports surfaced that Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel promoted offensive analyst Alec Abeln to tight ends coach. Abeln replaces Alex Golesh, who took over as head coach of the South Florida Bulls and served as the Vols’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach last year. Quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle was promoted to replace Golesh as OC.
This is Heupel’s third promotion in two years. He still hasn’t looked outside the program to fill an on-field staff vacancy. As written on Off The Hook Sports, that bucks many trends in college football today. Is it a philosophy that will pay off in the long run, or will Heupel need to go national soon?
Fred White joins
Former Tennessee football defensive back and 1998 national champion Fred White joined during the second leg of the program to discuss Heupel’s hiring practices and compare the Vols’ current defense to the defense he played on. He also discussed UT’s 1995 recruiting class, which he was a part of, and what it was like for him to arrive on campus the same time John Chavis took over as defensive coordinator.
Which 2023 Tennessee football signee will play immediately
National Signing Day occurred Wednesday, and Josh Heupel has wrapped up the Vols’ 2023 recruiting class. An article on Off The Hook Sports analyzes the five signees in the class most likely to play immediately. Who among them stands out the most? Could any of them start for Tennessee football in the opener? Where are the biggest needs that members of the class could address?
