Tennessee elevated defensive analyst Levorn “Chop” Harbin to the vacant outside linebackers position in the wake of Mike Ekeler’s departure this offseason. Harbin has been with Tennessee since the beginning of Josh Heupel’s tenure but is now getting his first chance as an assistant defensive coach with the Vols program.
Harbin has worked under defensive line coach Rodney Garner for several years as he now takes over the Vols’ LEO room. Despite the departure of star EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr. to the NFL this offseason, Harbin’s room projects to still be a force with names such as Joshua Josephs, Caleb Herring, and Jordan Ross.
Tennessee’s social media team featured Coach Chop in the fourth episode of The Juice YouTube series on Monday, a short-form documentary series as the Vols go through training camp this spring. The first seven minutes of the 11-minute video was dedicated to introducing Coach Chop to the fanbase.
“Coach Chop is very energetic,” Josephs said in the video. “He’ll always keep it real with you. He really wants the best out of us, so he’s always going to push us the only way he knows how to be pushed and the only way he knows how to push somebody.”
Harbin’s old-school coaching mentality lines up well with what Tennessee has on its defensive staff. Fans will have their first opportunity to see that in action at the Orange & White spring game coming up this Saturday.
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Check out the in-depth look at Tennessee’s newly promoted outside linebackers coach Levorn “Chop” Harbin in the fourth episode of The Juice below:
