Austin Price: Hello, friends, and welcome in for another episode of Vol Club Confidential. I'm your host, Austin Price, of volquest.com. The orange and white game coming up this Saturday at $5 admission to get in. The great people at Spyre have worked with local sponsors to be able to get tickets for underprivileged youth through the Emerald Youth Foundation, we appreciate them, and let's talk about that now with our very good friend, Brandon Spurlock. Brandon, able to get some local sponsors to come in and buy those $5 tickets to get butts in the seats over at Neyland Stadium, expecting a really good crowd coming up Saturday for the orange and white game. Brandon Spurlock: Yeah, we're approaching being sold out of the allotment that we have. The folks at Advent Electric have been great and that story has gotten some national attention and it's really a starting point for us in terms of a local sponsor that really embraced what we were doing. And we've got many other opportunities within Volunteer Club, Volunteer Legacy, inspire all the things that we're doing. I think this show, for instance, is a thing that has become a top three sports show in Knoxville in such a short time just in this market based on over a million views on the episodes that we've done here. So, opportunities similar to what Advent has already done within this show and within what we're doing on our website and different promotional opportunities within there. Austin Price: Up over 2,400 members. Brandon Spurlock: Yup. Austin Price: But I think the fans can do better. If you don't understand how NIL works, if you don't understand that, for as little as $5 a month, you can have an impact on Tennessee student athletes, then contact the people here with the Volunteer Club. Contact Brandon Spurlock, James Clawson, Will Watkins, Hunter Baddour, Sheridan Gannon and just ask questions. I think that's the biggest thing is there's so many people that just don't understand. I think that it's just some ignorance out there about how you can be involved, how you can impact Tennessee student athletes. Brandon Spurlock: Yeah, people are still learning and we've had waves. I know how hard it's been to get 2,400 members but we think every day we should have 10 or 20,000 or 50,000. And it takes work and it takes effort and we've really leaned in to our members that have been leaders and just wanted more. And so, we've created or we're creating a captain's program throughout the state where you can be a county leader and, really, if you want more and you want to embrace your membership and you want to find others like you, we're going to create incentives and really, really, really treat those people with care that are helping us get out there and recruit. And so, we've seen an uptick here just in the last week as we're in an off season. We're ending basketball, we're in baseball but football, as it drives things, in that football off season, we've found a way to lean into those folks and really have seen an uptick here lately just in the last week or so. Austin Price: Coming up Saturday, you have the tailgate for the orange and white game. I know that's something that you all did all last fall and it was uber successful and I know it's something you're excited about this Saturday. Brandon Spurlock: Yeah, and partnering with Tennessee even better than we were in the fall. So, as the rules changed in October, I've been able to lean in on that with folks at Tennessee, with the Vol network, working on spacing, working on activation opportunities there so excited about this Saturday. I can't believe, when you say it like that, it's this Saturday. So, here we are, I'm excited to see our guys play and excited to have our Vol Club members out again and get it back into action. Austin Price: All right, that is Brandon Spurlock. Now, let's get to the main attraction, wide receivers coach, Kelsey Pope. Hello, Kelsey. Kelsey Pope: How you doing? Austin Price: Good. You? Kelsey Pope: Awesome. Austin Price: Coach Pope, just over a year ago, you're getting ready for your first spring practice. The first year you're here, you're in the bullpen, so to speak, in there with all the QCs and GAs and you're in a room with a bunch of people, all of a sudden, you have your own office. How different was that moving in there and moving up to the big chair and how much fun was that to mold that room into what you envisioned it to be? Kelsey Pope: I think I'm probably just now realizing how chaotic that was at the time. Because when you get in it, the only thing you can focus on is really the next task and, like you said, trying to get the guys whatever they need to become successful and to produce ultimately. So, it's been a whirlwind, I think. Now, sometimes, I look back on how crazy that was and it's cool to look back on but, for me, it's always started and ended with my players, what they need and how I can eventually get them to be successful at whatever they want to be successful at. Austin Price: I don't think anybody was more excited than those players last year when you got promoted, they were pumped. You were their guy, not that Cody wasn't, but they had a connection with you. What do you think allows you to connect well with young guys? Kelsey Pope: For one, being relatable and, to be relatable, you got to be vulnerable. You got to share stories with them, you got to share successes, you have to share failures and you have to share those things with them. So, I've always tried to be transparent with where I was in my journey because I think it allows them to get through whatever hurdles, whatever obstacles they have. And so, I think that transparency has helped me create a ton of long-lasting, genuine relationships. I think that transparency in those relationships also allowed me to coach those guys hard because they understand I love them, they understand I know what they're going through and what they've been through. So, when I'm coaching them hard, they understand that it comes from a place of love and it's not just only a critique from a guy who's trying to do his job. It almost feels like a family member who's trying to maybe become better in everything I'm doing. So, that's probably been my most fortunate gift in this whole thing. Austin Price: Coach Pope is from Sylacauga, Alabama. Kelsey Pope: Yes, sir. Austin Price: Growing up there, take me through what that was like. What was it like being a kid? All the way back when you were five, six years old, what were you into, what were you doing? You strike me as a guy who probably have a fairly big family, Sundays after church at grandma's for lunch was a big thing. Kelsey Pope: No doubt, no doubt, no doubt. Those memories exactly are vivid. Sunday dinners being there after church till eight, 9:00. You can't see grass in the front yard because there's cars everywhere, softball games in the summer. I can remember my first memory playing football was right outside of a softball stadium and we played football with a cup and the only way you could get down is to be tackled, full body tackle. So, I had on my best dressed Easter suit and I come back with grass stains in my knees and I got lit up pretty bad when I got home from my mom. But that's my most vivid memory playing football and it was against an older crowd. And after leaving that day, I got the recognition that I was tough. So, from that point on, I had some confidence about me and being a tough player and tough person, being able to deal with tough situations. I think that's always been something that was important to me. Austin Price: When you have those ingrained memories, is there a point in time that you can smell something and, all of a sudden, it just takes you right back to those things? Kelsey Pope: Yeah, all the time. Grass, getting on the grass, that instantly brings you back to the fall and football. And my favorite time of year is August when it goes from summer and the temperature starts to come back down and you wake up in the morning and the sun is coming up and it smells like football season. It gives you chill bumps almost on your arms. So, I think those memories are vivid and will always be vivid to me. Austin Price: When did you realize you were going to be getting to play football and play it in college? Kelsey Pope: Oh, that's a good question. Man, I didn't start playing football until seventh, eighth grade. Played receiver in middle school, you don't really throw the ball in middle school, and high school I played quarterback. We're a triple option team, my freshman year started on varsity. I think, at that point, I started to see, okay, I've got a gift at doing this. And sophomore year, had a really good year, junior year, senior year follow those up. And I think, from a very early age, I always felt like I was gifted athletically, I just didn't know how gifted I was because I'm from small town. You only know what you're accustomed to and what you are around. I think, as I start getting exposed to other guys in other regions, I can start to poke my chest out a little bit when I held my own. And so, honestly, that confidence through sports has carried me even to this day. I feel comfortable going in a bunch of rooms even if I start out unfamiliar or something like that. I think, eventually, the confidence that I had growing up, working through situations and working through issues, I think it still sticks with me today. Austin Price: Do you think that helps you as a recruiter from the standpoint of being able to go in different rooms and different areas? I think to be a chameleon as a recruiter is the best compliment you can get because that means you can go into backwoods, you can go into inner city, you can relate to everybody. Kelsey Pope: I think you have to be confident. Recruiting, especially at this level, is like doggy dog. I think, for me, my biggest trait in recruiting has been I could go from Wall Street to Martin Luther King Street. I went to a private liberal arts college, I grew up in a tough area where things weren't handed to you and where you had to be who you say you are. And so, I think one thing that holds true no matter what kind of living room you go into or what demographic or background, I think you have to be who you say you are. I think you got to be genuine and I think you have to be interested. I heard a saying one time, it was like the most interesting person in the room is the most interested person in the room. So, I can't go into your household and just be interested in what you can do for me. I have to be able to pour into you to ultimately get you to where you want to go. So, that's always held true for me and, in recruiting, it's been super helpful in playing that into reality. Austin Price: And I would say that that works in that wide receiver room, too. The guys that are most interested, like the buy-in Jalin had last year, ends up resulting into Biletnikoff Award. Kelsey Pope: 100%. I think experiences help us become interesting. Jalin's a kid who was a phenomenal football player, who's really always been a phenomenal football player, it just now played out to the world. And for him, his sophomore year, he's very vocal about saying it didn't go the way he thought it would and the experience that fueled him was Velus getting drafted. Velus being his peer, him seeing Velus's his growth, he got drafted. And Jalin came to me around this time last year, he was like, "Pope, let's come up with a plan, I'll work to plan and we'll live with the results," and that's absolutely what he did. I've never seen a kid more relentless in his work, never seen a kid more relentless in a goal to become a better person first and the football aspect just played out after he did that. Austin Price: When you know that he watched Velus be his reason why to really dive in, buy in, all that, how much does that give you as a coach to be able to look at some of those younger receivers or someone who hasn't fulfilled what maybe they had hoped and go, "There's example A of what happens when we do the right things"? Kelsey Pope: In this business, recruiting, talking to kids is one thing but you have to have evidence. You have to have evidence that, man, what I'm saying is real. What I'm saying, if you do it, it's absolutely real that it can happen. And I think you see Velus and you see Jalin and you see Cedric, they're the blueprint. We've been here two years and those guys did a phenomenal job of buying in, truly trusting as they bought in and it played out on the back end. So, when I'm talking to Bru McCoy or Chas Nimrod or Kaleb Webb or Squirrel White or Dont'e Thornton, when I'm talking to any of those guys in the room, it holds weight now because it's evidence of this is what it looks like when you do it the right way. Austin Price: How competitive are you? We all know how competitive Heup is, the dude can't let go losing in bowling to Dont'e Thornton on a visit a few months ago. How competitive are you in those situations? And when Heup takes the whole team over to the softball field and does home run derby or plays basketball or whatever, are you one of those guys that are like, "Yeah, I want to see if I still got a little bit in it." Kelsey Pope: Super competitive. I'll give you a story about Heup. So, to put it all in perspective, when I got to Tennessee, I was a Division III coach, D2, really climbed my way up from the rank. So, before I got to Tennessee, I was at Gardner-Webb, I was at Gardner-Webb as co-receive receivers coach, so this is my first SEC experience. So, Heup hires me when he gets here and we're playing noon basketball. Exactly what you said is true about Heup, he is uber competitive, never wants to lose and he'll try to play some mind games before any event to make sure he's got an edge. He's got some Kobe Bryant mamba mentality stuff to him. So, he goes, "Nobody touch the head coach. If you guard the head coach, you don't touch him." And in my head, I'm super competitive, I'm like, "Yeah, right, don't touch the head coach. Yeah, right." So, super competitive about basketball, grew up playing my whole life. So, we start hooping and I get in the rhythm and it's a loose ball and I'm going after it like, dang, near diving on the court and I feel somebody out of the corner, not really caring who it is, I just see a loose ball and I go after it and it's Heup. I fall on top of him with the ball, he's underneath me and I'm looking like, "Man, I just fell on the head coach," and he's got this look like, "All right, bro, you messed up." So, everybody's laughing. The guys that came from UCF with him, they know him, he's super competitive, he don't want people touching him when they're playing basketball. So, that's been a rule for forever for these guys. I'm the new guy on the block, I'm in the SEC, I've let my competitive spirit take over in the moment. So, we finished playing ball, he don't really say anything to me so I'm a little nervous, I don't really know what's going to go on. I get back to the coach's locker room and I don't have anything in my locker, no gear, shoes, everything's out of my locker. And I look around and everybody's looking at me and it's like, "Heup did it, man. He told you not to touch the head coach." I'm like, "Man, I'm going to have to call my fiancé, my mom and tell them I got fired from playing pickup basketball and running over the head coach." And thank goodness he was joking, he's playing a joke but that speaks to Coach Heup and his sense of competitiveness. If he says something he means it. Austin Price: In other words, if you watch Major League, Heup pulled a Roger Dorn when he puts the slip in Charlie Sheen's locker to make him think he got cut. Kelsey Pope: Yeah, yeah. Austin Price: That's fantastic. Is he the best practical joker on the staff? Kelsey Pope: Is Coach Heup? Austin Price: Yeah. Kelsey Pope: Nah, I wouldn't say that. Best practical joker, who would that be? Austin Price: Who you got to have a head on a swivel with? Kelsey Pope: That's a good question. I feel like you got to have a head on a swivel for players more than coaches, man. They come in with all kinds of stuff. Scooters and Baylor's had a ferret. I've never seen somebody with a pet ferret. So, I think you got to have your head on the swivel for players before coaches. I think coaches, man, we don't have a lot of time to play games so guys are usually just laser focused. Austin Price: Biggest impact on you as a coach growing up or when you got to college or even as a young coach? Who's had the biggest impact on you? Kelsey Pope: Pat Sullivan, hands down. For those that don't know, he was my college coach. He won the Heisman Trophy at Auburn, was a quarterback at Auburn back in the day. He's the reason why I got into coaching. He recruited me to Samford, it was the only scholarship offer to play quarterback. Everywhere else recruited me as a DB receiver and he gave me a shot to play quarterback and I was 17, 18 years old on campus and he told me I was going to be a coach one day. And I'm looking at him like, "Bro, are you insane? I would never do that. You all stay up here too long, you all don't have personal lives, I'm not doing that." And lo and behold, that's what happened, he would always say that. And just the way he handles himself, the way that he put his wife first and his family was always important, the way he made relationships the most important thing. He was really a man's man, standup guy. He's one that's always left an imprint on me. Austin Price: Speaking of putting your wives first, you're a newlywed. Kelsey Pope: Yes, sir. Austin Price: How much fun have you enjoyed that? And you do have to balance the work because you guys do work a ton of hours but just getting to spend time with her and getting to go through this young journey together. Kelsey Pope: It's been awesome and I'm fortunate because she understands the lifestyle, she understands the time commitment that I have to give to these players. Austin Price: She understood going in. Kelsey Pope: Correct. I actually met her, I was a young coach, still a young coach, it was a couple years ago at Tennessee Tech. I was there and she was in the recruiting office at UGA and I was there networking, seeing some old coaches that I had kept in contact with and we met there. So, she had been in the business and understands what it takes. She's got a heart for the kids, bigger heart than I do. I'm super fortunate in that regard because she gets the recruiting, she understands why the relationships are important to me and she understands why I want her around so much. Because I think, you mentioned it, man, the role model piece is super important. I want these guys to have a positive role model, not only on the field, but what it's like to be a husband, what it's like to be a father. I think those things are critical to have a blueprint and a prime example that is tangible and that you can touch daily and talk to daily, I think that's extremely important. She's phenomenal at being supportive for me and also for the players and the parents as well. She does an incredible job. Austin Price: So, you also have your first kid on the way. Kelsey Pope: Yes, sir. Austin Price: I remember when we found out we were pregnant with our first, I couldn't tell anybody but there was ... We do our rivalry Thursday games on Thursday night and Madison Hock is her name now, she actually works for Valley Sports, she covers the Pelicans and the Texas Rangers, working NBA and MLB. And she was in high school at the time at Farragut and she was a little intern with us on rivalry Thursday and I knew I could tell her because she didn't care when we were having a baby so I told her. Was there that moment for you where you knew you couldn't tell anybody but you just had to express how excited you were? Kelsey Pope: Yeah, I called my twin brother and told him. He actually coaches D line in Memphis but he's the first one I told. Actually, her sister was the first one we told. She was on FaceTime and we just couldn't hold it in- Austin Price: Yeah, I understand. Kelsey Pope: ... and so we told her sister and then I called and told my brother. Austin Price: How different is it telling family members versus telling your players? Because I know they're excited for you too and so is it the exact same or is it a different type of feeling, different type of reaction? Kelsey Pope: It felt very similar. For the players, they're just excited because they're uncles now. They're talking about, "Man, I hope it's a girl so, on prom, we can do this." I'm like, "Bro, relax, relax." Austin Price: Prom, that's only- Kelsey Pope: Yeah, no doubt. Austin Price: That's only 16 years from now. Kelsey Pope: Yeah, that's 15 years ahead. But family, it was a very similar reaction, very similar reaction. Both of our parents are excited, siblings, brothers, sisters are excited. So, it's a blessing for sure and we're in a unique situation and we got all the faith in the world that our support system, everybody will help us as much as they can because it takes a village. Austin Price: Yeah, no doubt about that. Kelsey Pope: Yeah. Austin Price: Grandparents, get ready. Better athlete, you or your brother? Kelsey Pope: Man, him. Austin Price: That's good. See, I like that, I like that honesty. Kelsey Pope: Yeah, him. Austin Price: What made him the better athlete? Kelsey Pope: I think he played multiple positions, he was more versatile. He was 6'2", 230, 245 so he could play tight end and linebacker. I wanted to play DB but, my high school coach, he let me play quarterback. Austin Price: Did there ever times, whether you were playing or not, even to this day, where you almost have that thought process to call him and he's thinking about you at the same time? You guys spent so much time to grow on another. Kelsey Pope: It's twin telepathy, it's supposed to be a real thing. Yeah, we do that a lot. Usually a text, call. It's funny because, in this industry, you get busy a lot and we talk to each other. I could call him in two weeks or two months and it's like we pick up right back off. So, it's fortunate to have someone on this same journey with you, it's a neat experience. Austin Price: Thing you admire most about him? Kelsey Pope: I say his heart, man. He's an incredibly passionate guy. He was another vital reason I got into coaching. I was still playing ball and went on drafted to the Cardinals and did the XFL deal and he went right into GA and saw the strides he was able to make and how much fun he was having and I jumped into it after seeing the way he was so passionate about the work and how he was affecting lives. So, he's another big reason. Austin Price: All right, let's take it back to last season. Kelsey Pope: Okay. Austin Price: You get off, good start, center tailing against the game winner against Pitt next week, he gets hurt. As a young coach, what's going through your mind? Because now you've got to try to get somebody else ready and he's such a key piece at that point. Jalin's not Jalin at that point. So, what's going through your mind? Kelsey Pope: Honestly, for me, it's just, man, always being competitive, I think I go into situations preparing for the worst. Not in a morbid way, not in a detrimental way but I want guys and also myself to be aware enough and ready enough that, if the bottom falls out, we can still sustain and make plays and produce. So, for me, as a coach, as you see players start to grow and get to that next level and as guys grow and they earn trust with you, I think good coaches try to pick and choose, all right, this is the next one I have to have ready or that guy needs to be ready. Sad he was the only guy coming back with a thousand yards in the league, had a good feeling about him, continued to coach him super hard but Jalin was one that we had our thumb on that, man, this is a guy, if we figure it out, if he figures it out, it can be special. Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White, were two others. So, I think you constantly always have to have that one in the chamber that, man, if a guy goes down and everyone says next man mentality, I think you have to train that. That way, when it happens, it's just routine, you don't flinch at all because you're prepared for it. And so, that was always my mentality in practice, as we prepared and, lo and behold, it happened. The most fortunate part about all that stuff is none of the guys flinched. Jalin didn't flinch, Ramel didn't flinch, Bru, Squirrel, those guys didn't flinch. They just kept rowing the boat and it was next man up. Austin Price: Ramel, he just goes about his business, keeps making plays, you know what I mean? He was that way in high school. He wasn't real flashy, he just caught a bunch of touchdowns, got a bunch of yards and just kept rolling. Same way here. How do you describe him? What he means to the room, what does he bring to the room? Kelsey Pope: Ramel's a savvy vet. He's the one that's been around the block and extremely smart kid, super smart kid. He has some stuff to work through and he's grown tremendously on and off the field. For him, it is just bringing his experience and his knowledge and he has a unique way of seeing the game. In a lot of ways, he helps me see the game from different perspectives but he's a savvy vet, man, super savvy and the guys really look up to him and look forward to bouncing ideas and things like that off of him. Austin Price: At what point last year were you most proud? Was there a moment in the season, a moment in a game? It doesn't have to be just broad picture, it can be a specific one where you're like, "Man, that was it." Kelsey Pope: Honestly, I was super proud at the end of it all. I was super proud right after the Orange Bowl just thinking about everything we overcame. You think about that Florida game and Cedric Tillman said it before the game, man, this is the biggest game that we've had in Knoxville in 15, 20 years. And my response to that was this is unique, this is a huge game but, if you treat this game the right way and you prepare the right way, it'll sustain itself and every game the rest of the year will be a big game, the biggest game that you've had in Knoxville. Or, you can't handle it the right way, you don't prepare the right way and it's prom night, it's one and done. And those guys heard that and did it, Bama heard that and did it, Kentucky game was huge. They played in a ton of huge games last year and the cool thing was that I don't think those moments were too big for them. Those guys stayed in it, they were even killed and that's why you have the season you have. I think it takes a bunch of mental fortitude to get in new situations and continue to grow. I think it's human nature for you to get in new situations and there's some lacks and you have a hard time figuring out but those guys just always, man, rose to the level of play of whoever was next. And, to me, it's a lot like life. You don't get a lot of opportunities to advance your careers or you don't get a lot of opportunities to reach your goals and your dreams but, when you do, you want to make sure that you have people around you and you're in an environment that can cultivate growth and the pursuit of growth. So, I feel like those guys pursued it every single week and I think, at the end of it, man, that's what made me most proud. Austin Price: Everybody going to point to that Alabama game but I thought the two plays in that Florida game at the end of the half, obviously, the diamond catch by Ramel but then the sliding catch by Bru. Whereas, as big a plays in the season that, once you got past that Florida game, then it was easier to go to LSU . Kelsey Pope: And those games build more confidence. Austin Price: Yeah. Kelsey Pope: Now, when I'm in that situation again, I'm not thinking it's routine, it just become muscle memory almost. So, it was good, it was really cool to see those guys grow. Austin Price: This spring, you've got some young guys going through, Bru's not out there and ... Who do you feel like is, I won't say is like Jalin because I don't think that's fair, but who do you feel like has really honed their focus, wanting to take that next step, being hungry to make a move? Kelsey Pope: I think a bunch of guys, in a lot of different ways, are doing that. I think Kaleb Webb is one that stands out. Chas Nimrod is one that stands out. Squirrel obviously works his butt off every single day. Dont'e Thorton has been an incredible addition to the room. Nathan Leacock, true freshman, just came off a really good scrimmage. So, I think in a lot of different ways. It's hard to say who's going to have this jump or who's going to improve here, I think that's a part of the journey, you just got to continue to go and force guys to continue to compete and get better but there's been some bright spots out of a bunch of guys. Austin Price: Some social media questions for you. Do you have any hidden talents? Kelsey Pope: I don't. No singing, no dancing, I don't do video games. Austin Price: If there was one thing you wish you had learned to do when you were a kid, is there one in particular? I think, for me, I think it'd be play the guitar but ... Kelsey Pope: I wish I would've learned different languages like Mandarin. I know a little Spanish from taking it in high school, French. My wife does this Duolingo thing, she's got a 600-day streak on whatever the app is, it teaches you a language. So, I think learning different languages would've been cool. Austin Price: What is one thing that most people would be surprised by about about you? Kelsey Pope: I'm a huge documentary guy. Old World War II docs, any kind of documentary. It could be black and white. Austin Price: I love JFK. Kelsey Pope: 100%. That's my favorite president. Austin Price: That's Heup. Heup's a huge JFK guy. Kelsey Pope: JFK is my favorite president. Austin Price: He dropped that stuff when we did Vol Club Confidential and the next day I started texting. I'm like, "All right, give me your theories, who was it?" and he's texting me back detailed responses and I'm like, "This is great." Because he just peels back the onion a little bit. Kelsey Pope: Favorite president. Austin Price: Rapid fire question. Nickname? Kelsey Pope: KP. Austin Price: Yeah, that's easy. I figured it was because mine's AP. Kelsey Pope: Yeah. Austin Price: First concert you ever attended? Kelsey Pope: Kanye West concert. It was actually in Nashville, Bridgestone a couple years ago. Only concert I've been to. Austin Price: Sports you'd coach after football? Kelsey Pope: Golf. I'm on this golf kick. What's the ... Austin Price: My guy. Kelsey Pope: What's the documentary we've been watching called? Dacia King: It's called Full Swing. Kelsey Pope: Full Swing on Netflix, the documentary. Love it. Austin Price: What superpower would you want if you could get one? Kelsey Pope: I probably want to read minds. That probably sounds creepy, you all might have to delete that. Austin Price: Favorite junk food? Kelsey Pope: Oh, I am a junk food fanatic. I'm a cereal guy, cereal connoisseur. I love the Sour Patch Kids, the watermelon Sour Patch Kids, the gummy berry Life ... I could talk about junk food forever. Austin Price: Kelsey's that guy that goes to Dollar Tree and gets the Sour Patch Kids to go to the movies, aren't you? Kelsey Pope: So, I'll tell you this, I'll give you this. Wild Berry Pop-Tarts, biggest gem ever. Nobody knows what they are, they're always sold out. If you hear this, go get Wild Berry Pop-Tarts. That's not a ad, Wild Berry Pop-Tarts. Austin Price: Wild Berry Pop-tarts for NIL deal. Favorite TV show? Kelsey Pope: That's a good one. We've been watching The Wire. During spring break, we watched The Wire, it's a really good TV show. Austin Price: Did you ever watch 24? Kelsey Pope: I did not, I watched Prison Break. It's along the same lines, right? Austin Price: Yeah. Kelsey Pope: Prison Break was a really good one. Austin Price: You should get on 24 if you can get to it. Really good. Kelsey Pope: The Wire was a really good TV show also. HBO? Austin Price: Yeah? Kelsey Pope: Just finished that. Austin Price: Nice. Giving presents or getting presents? Kelsey Pope: Ooh, my wife will say getting presents. She'll say getting presents but they're always right, getting presents. Austin Price: When you buy her a gift for her birthday or Christmas or something, do you ever get one and go, "This is good. She's going to be excited about this." You know what I mean? You're as excited to see her get it because you know it's something she really wants. Kelsey Pope: Yeah, I'm super excited about seeing her get gifts. I'm sure she's super excited about getting gifts also but she's super appreciative. I think the reaction is always the coolest part about giving gifts, seeing everybody's reaction. Austin Price: Do you ever get something and you're just like, "Man, I hope this is right." You know what I mean? There's this you think but you don't know and then there's- Kelsey Pope: I'm super picky about what I wear and how it goes on and bedsheets. To a T, super picky so I'm probably hard to get gifts for. Austin Price: So, we'll go with you're a neat freak then? Kelsey Pope: Probably. For sure, absolutely, 1,000%. Austin Price: Is this true? Dacia King: Absolutely. Austin Price: His wife's right over here. Okay, just making sure. We're just making sure. She's not having to clean up the house at all? Kelsey Pope: Yeah, nah, nah. I don't get that crazy. I'm usually someone who-- Austin Price: You got pets? Kelsey Pope: We do. This is a sensitive subject. We have a cat. Austin Price: And you're not a cat person? Kelsey Pope: I wasn't until I met my wife and inherently had to be a cat person. Austin Price: You adopted one? Kelsey Pope: I did. So, her name's Coco, she weighs about 165 pounds and she sits on the couch and she's got the couch, it's hers. She's a phenomenal member of the family. It's her house, we just live there. Austin Price: That's phenomenal, phenomenal. Have you started thinking about names for the baby? Kelsey Pope: I don't know if she going to let me to tell you but, JFK being my favorite president, we thought of the name Kennedy if it's a girl. Austin Price: Yeah, I like that. Kelsey Pope: We hadn't found out the gender yet but that's a name that we thought of. Austin Price: I do like that. I always say that the hardest part is coming up with names because you got to think about the acronyms and all that stuff- Kelsey Pope: No doubt, no doubt. Austin Price: ... middle names. And kids these days will ... I don't know, I wonder what they're going to deal with. You ready for the orange and white game? Kelsey Pope: I'm fired up about it. I think it's going to be extremely crucial to see some of these young guys in critical situations, see how they operate in real time and see how they operate when coaches are on the sideline. I think in practice, man, I'm super old school because I'm really demanding on our guys because, on Saturdays, I want them to be bulletproof. Whatever situation, they'll be able to get through. Because there's a lot that could go wrong in this league, there's a lot that's going to be thrown at you in this league. And regardless if you're 18 or 68, if you can handle yourself in those situations and you can make plays and be consistent and compete and strain, you can play receiver at the University of Tennessee. Austin Price: You still think you got one route left in you? Kelsey Pope: Man, I tell our guys all the time, I still got about 250 yards left in me. It could be in one game or 10 games, I got 250 left in me. Austin Price: What route was your favorite route? Kelsey Pope: I could run any route on the route tree. Post corners, curls, two seamery. Austin Price: When Nick got called in, you knew you were running that route. You're like, "This guy can't guard me." Kelsey Pope: Probably a jerk route. It's a double move, about five yards off the ball, working against a linebacker, yeah. Austin Price: Nice. Kelsey Pope: Yeah. Austin Price: One thing you would tell a younger version of you? Kelsey Pope: It's a good question. Honestly, keep going and I say that for a bunch of different reasons. I think, when I was younger, I wanted so desperately to be what I deemed as successful and I'm just now learning that that term for successful was just, man, I wanted to make an impact and leave an impression on people. I think, ultimately, as men, we want to leave legacies. And once I got done playing ball, that was my question myself. I thought about getting in medical sales and doing things for the money and the biggest thing that I could take or biggest thing I could leave on this earth is a legacy for my family when I'm long gone. The best way to do that is to help others go achieve and reach their dreams. I got to a point where, man, I've seen a lot of places and been in a lot of seats that I never thought, growing up in Sylacauga, Alabama, I'd get to. And once you get to a certain point, I think there is a sense of gratitude and I think it takes over you. And, for me, coaching is a way of giving back and really worshiping, it's a way of treating that same 15-year-old Kelsey Pope, that's how I look at all these guys in the room. Man, whatever I needed, whatever I wanted my coaches to be able to give me, I try to do that to the 10th degree and that's been the formula that's worked for me so far. So, my advice to younger coach Pope would be keep going. Austin Price: Tennessee's such a place where you can leave a legacy because of the history here. How much has that grown on you? From Alabama but now you coach here, take me through what you've learned about the history, the people, the place. Kelsey Pope: It's been incredible and it's humbling saying this because, after the Alabama game, I don't get on Twitter a lot or Instagram a lot but I had messages from, excuse me, citizens in Tennessee saying, man, that was my last wish before I left earth was to see you guys win a game like that. And I tell our players that, man, you don't get a lot of places in the world that are this passionate about a sports team but this game builds a bridge. The people around this fan base, they can have $15 left in their bank account and they'll pay 14 to come see Tennessee play because, if those guys can push through whatever they're going through and win a game, I can continue to get through what's going on in my life and I think that's what makes this game and sports so powerful. It's a form of currency that it inspires anybody regardless of race, color, background. It's an incredible tool to have and I try to always remind our guys to use that for the benefit and always remember they're in a fortunate position. Austin Price: We appreciate you joining us. It's been a great look at this guy right here. He's done a great job of connecting with, not only the players of Tennessee, but connecting with prospects and we look forward to see what the future has in store. Kelsey Pope: I'm looking forward to it. Thank you guys for having me. Austin Price: Appreciate it. He's KP, I'm AP, we'll see you next week, everybody.