Vols Ready to ‘Let it Rip’ Under New Offensive Staff

(utsports.com) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – New Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel formally introduced his offensive staff to the media on Wednesday as the Volunteers charted a course for their uptempo offensive philosophy.

The experienced staff includes offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Golesh, wide receivers coach Kodi Burns, offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle and running backs coach Jerry Mack. Including Heupel, the group owns a combined 88 years of collegiate experience, 24 conference championships, 60 bowl game appearances, as well as a history of elite, uptempo offenses.

“We are excited about them being a part of what we’re doing and getting our guys going offensively,” Heupel said. “And again, for us, on the offensive side of the ball, we’re going to play with tempo. We’re going to play in space. We’re going to apply pressure to the defense consistently, and we’ve got a group of guys here on the offensive side of the football that are ready to go lead that charge.”

Golesh, Halzle and Elarbee were all a part of Heupel’s thriving offense at UCF that saw the Knights rank second in the FBS in total offense (568.1), fourth in passing offense (357.4), seventh in total passing yards (3,574) and eighth nationally in scoring offense (42.2) this past fall. Including his time at Missouri, Heupel’s units ranked in the top 15 nationally in total offense all five seasons. The success began at quarterback.

“Quarterback friendly – we are going to let you rip it,” Halzle said. “We are going to let you rip it all over the field. We are going to teach you. We are going to mold you into the best you can be, and then we are going to turn you loose to go play ball on Saturdays. We don’t make guys play scared.”

Meanwhile, Mack and Burns bring extensive on-field and recruiting success to Knoxville.