Rodney Garner is going to recruit the stars for the Tennessee Football defensive staff. However, the Vols’ newest assistant coach on that side of the ball will be able to identify talent across the south nobody else saw on the recruiting trail and before anybody figures out who they are.
Josh Heupel promoted Levorn “Chop” Harbin to replace Mike Ekeler as outside linebackers coach Tuesday. Heupel announced the promotion the same day he revealed his two new special teams hires, promoting Evan Crabtree to special teams coordinator and John Bonamego special teams assistant to fill the void Ekeler left there as well.
Harbin’s experience makes him perfectly fit for this role, though. Familiarity is already there, as he has been a defensive analyst since 2021 and worked closely with Garner on the line, particularly helping to develop edge rushers. The experience he brings before then is even more valuable, though.
Before Tennessee, Harbin was the director of recruiting for the Auburn Tigers in 2019 and 2020, so he brings SEC recruiting experience. He was also at Auburn in 2013 and 2014 and 199 and 2000. More importantly, though, he has spent most of his coaching career at smaller southern schools, where it’s much more crucial to be able to evaluate talent.
A significant portion of of Harbin’s experience is at the HBCU level, as he coached at Tuskegee from 2006 to 2012. However, he was also with the Georgia Southern Eagles in 2002 and 2003 and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns from 2015 to 2017. At those schools, he helped breed success by finding unheralded talent.
There’s a reason after his time with Georgia Southern he was hired as a scout by the Atlanta Falcons, a role he held in 2004. Harbin’s success is identifying talent, and that’s going to be a huge asset for the Vols as they have to figure out ways to spend their NIL dollars moving forward into the future.
Taking all this into account, Heupel hit a home run by naming Harbin outside linebackers coach. He’ll likely help Garner with the edge rushers specifically and also be a huge force in getting undervalued players to come to Knoxville. With him and Garner together, the Vols should remain deadly up front for years to come.
