First-year linebackers coach Levorn “Chop” Harbin had a very special reason to choose Tennessee to pursue his coaching career. While a Vol analyst, Harbin was also a father.

“Honestly, it was my daughter,” Harbin said when asked why he chose Tennessee among other offers. “I had a chance to go to Tennessee or go somewhere else. I also had a lot of friends that had taken a job here about a month before me. But really, my daughter, for whatever reason, she always loved Tennessee. 

“I didn’t know she just wanted to go to school here. She is a student here. We love it here. The people have been great to me and my family. Coach (Josh) Heupel is great to work for. Coach (Tim) Banks is great to work for. So, it’s been awesome.” 

Banks, Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, will certainly be keeping a close eye on Harbin, who will coach outside linebackers. That means Harbin will be coaching the all-important “Leo” position, which is a hybrid defensive end/linebackers position. That’s not an easy position to coach as it involves rushing the passer, playing the run and also dropping into pass coverage fairly often.

“A lot of energy,” Harbin said of the players he has set to play Leo. “We still have a lot more improvement to go with the little things, hand placement and working on verticals. The kids are working hard. Excited about the group. They have great attitudes. They are really close together, which I love. We still have to get a lot better with the finish. We are going to get there.” 

The goal is to get where former Tennessee EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr. was before last season, when he was projected as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. After a somewhat disappointing 2024 season, that’s not going to happen, but Pearce will still be a high NFL Draft pick. That should help motivate the rest of the Vols’ Leos, especially senior Joshua Josephs.

“Those two guys came in together as really good friends, so that’s a motivating factor for him,” Harbin said of Josephs. “He’s happy to see James have all of the hoopla and talk about being a first-rounder. He’s happy for him, but he can see where he needs to improve and also take his game a little bit to a different level than James. 

“He has an extra gear, so he should.” 

Harbin earned his, well, chops in recruiting. That’s what got him promoted from analyst to a full-time coach. Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner has seen the hard work in action.

“He is relentless,” Garner said. “He does a great job building relationships. He works at it. He builds trust. He adds value. That is a thing that is sort of getting lost in today’s new age of different ways of recruiting. He does a great job of building relationships and building trust and having the opportunity to close on guys in the end.” 

Harbin isn’t the first to go from analyst to assistant coach. Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, tight ends coach Alec Abeln and receivers coach Kelsey Pope were all analysts before being named official members of the coaching staff.

“I think it’s great,” Harbin said. “I think all of the guys before me have earned the spot to be promoted. It also helps with the cultural aspect that if you work hard, you will get promoted. If you don’t, then you won’t. 

“Coach Heupel has been great to me from start to finish. He’s been great to my family. His wife has been great to my wife and to my kids. That’s been a selling point for us to stay here as long we have. I don’t usually stay.”

Harbin won’t ease up on recruiting just because he’ll be on the field more often. After all, that’s where he’s been most valuable as a Vol. Harbin has already landed one prospect since being named a full-time assistant. He was the lead recruiter for EDGE rusher C.J. Edwards, who committed to Tennessee last month. He’s also been involved in several other commitments when he was an analyst.

“Recruiting, no,” Harbin said when asked if his duties would change as a full-timer. “The coaching part is more on me now. I used to assist with Coach Garner and Coach (Mike) Ekeler…so there has been a little bit more with that. The recruiting part, that doesn’t stop. I’m still going to do what I do.” 

When asked how he would describe his recruiting style, Harbin said, “I know that I’m genuine. I am who I am and I’m not changing. Everybody who knows me knows that I can go from zero to 100, but the thing about me is that I’m genuine. If you’re good to me, I’m good to you, and that’s the same way with recruiting. 

“I don’t deviate with that. I don’t put on a different mask when it comes to recruiting. We have hard conversations sometimes with me, the parents and the kids, and that’s fine. I tell them that upfront, but we’ll always be honest from start to finish. That will always be consistent about me, and that’s why I think I kind of gravitate towards people who are like that and they gravitate to me.”