When people talk about the best recruiters on Tennessee football’s staff, the most common names brought up are on defense.
Rightfully so, the likes of Rodney Garner, William Inge and Levorn ‘Chop’ Harbin have been praised for their abilities to stack up talent for the Vols’ front six. There’s been a consistent recruiting threat on the offensive side of the ball, as well, though.
Kelsey Pope, Tennessee’s wide receivers coach, is continuing to do a great job of landing top recruits. This most recently took form in the commitment of five-star athlete Salesi Moa, who projects to spend at least some of his time in college as a receiver.
This adds to an already impressive class for Pope and the Vols at the position. UT holds the commitments of four-stars Legend Bey and Tyreek King. Bey projects to play on the outside, while King is considered one of the best slot receivers in the entire class.
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When this group gets to campus, they’ll be joining a group of young receivers that are expected to break out this upcoming 2025 season. This past cycle, the Vols landed a trio of four-star receivers. On the outside, top 100 receiver Travis Smith Jr. and top 250 Radarious Jackson are both on track to play as true freshmen.
In the slot, Joakim Dodson joins the team for fall camp. He was not an early enrollee and missed spring ball, but he will also sit in decent standing on the depth chart in year one.
In the 2024 cycle, Pope landed five-star outside receiver Mike Matthews and top-100, four-star slot receiver Braylon Staley. This duo are already penciled in as starters in their second year of college.
This isn’t even to mention the success UT has had in the transfer portal. Also projected to start this year is Chris Brazzell II, a transfer out of Tulane. Pope also helped bring in the likes of Dont’e Thornton Jr. from Oregon, who is now headed to the NFL.
Tennessee may not be done in this 2026 cycle, either. The Vols are still after five-star Tristen Keys, who ranks as the top receiver in the entire class. Keys is currently an LSU commit, but Tennessee hasn’t given up with its efforts to force a flip.
