Everything Kelsey Pope Said Ahead of Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech

Coach Kelsey Pope is one of the only coaches who had the chance to speak to the Tennessee Vols football media ahead of the Georgia Tech contest on Saturday.

Here is everything he had to say.

Kelsey Pope on Mike Matthews Monsterous Block

“Yeah, I think the block, I’m always fired up when I see those guys doing that because that’s something we vehemently try to preach daily: is the intensity, the focus that we have when we’re running routes. We want that same type of aggressiveness and focus and strain when we’re blocking. I’m always fired up seeing that also because it’s just another example for other guys in the room of what it should look like. And then both of the touchdown catches, I think those were good. I think that’s a testament to Mike. That’s something we really focused on this summer was just him eliminating drops, and I don’t think it was a hand-eye coordinating issue. It was more of a focus issue than true hand-eye coordination. And so we worked a lot of things this summer. We kind of got creative. We bought eye patches and covered one eye and caught freaking a thousand balls, but it’s a testament to him of when he does the work, how much easier things will be. We just got to keep working at playing with him,” Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on Who the Eye Patches Are For

“Everybody. I was watching a podcast late and they talked about triggering different stimulus in your brain and covering one eye. The guys gravitated to it, and so we bought about 25 eye patches and been going to work ever since. So it’s been good,” Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on Tyreek King Stepping Into the Slot Rotation

“I think Tyreek, he got here in May. He was a late add. He didn’t get out early, but he did a good job early on of kind of making progress and making ground. I think now it’s just like the game’s got to slow down for him. He got here late. All those guys had been through spring ball. He had fresh legs. So this summer and fall camp, you saw that. That helped him get ahead. Well, I think now he’s starting to feel fatigue, which now this is another evolution for his growth. So through fatigue now, he’s got to still be able to have the same focus, same mentality, and same attention to detail as he works. So he’s done a good job today when he got off to a really good start, and my job is just keep him steady, keep him confident, and to actually pull that out of him. So he’s heading in the right direction right now,” Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on Mike Matthews Bouncing Back From an Early Drop

“I think it’s indicative of what we’ve said about him all camp. You ask D.O. in strength and conditioning, you ask his tutors in the Thornton Center. Everybody around the building has, top to bottom, said Mike is a completely different person. And I think when you get that, you get an even better football player. So, I think it’s really cool for other guys to see that example. For TK Keys to see that example. For Tyreek King to see that example. That if I do it the right way, if I listen to my coaches, if I trust what they’re telling me, there is success on the other side. There’s proof of concept. And it’s not just with those guys. I was telling Mike and Bray the same thing when they were freshmen about Cedric Tillman, about Jalin Hyatt, about Dont’e Thornton. So I think that proof of concept is powerful, especially in the receiving room. Those guys got different personalities. Sometimes it’s hard to get them on board and to trust. But once you have them, they’ll go to bat for you. They’ll run through a wall. And I think that’s what we’ve created right now with guys like Mike and Bray setting the example," Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on the No. 3 Wide Receiver Spot

Tennessee wide receiver TK Keys (5) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a college football game between Tennessee and Furman in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“I think it’s still number three by committee right now, which is a luxury. We got three guys right now we feel good about playing in that spot. Nobody’s necessarily taking a jump. But individually, I think Radarious played really hard. He strained in run game. He added value in run game. And it was good to see him pop the stop route for an explosive on the far side of the field. It was good to see Travis make some plays. He made one play on the deep out. And then he had one I felt like a ball-in-hand situation. He could have broken a tackle and really taking advantage of. But it was good for him to get confidence. And then TK, being able to finish the deep ball in the end zone on the go ball was awesome to see. Those things give those guys confidence. And what’s affecting each other right now is just competition. TK is affecting Travis and RaRa is affecting Travis and TK. They’re really building off one another right now, which is what we want in that room. My plan is just for them to keep competing and us keep going,” Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on His Brother Being a Georgia Tech Coach

“It’ll be fun. I think it’ll be something fun for our family. I think they’ll probably enjoy it more than me. My focus right now is to get these guys in the room ready to go win one on the road. I’m sure once we get to the back end of season, Christmas and all that stuff, it’ll be good memories. But just honestly, my focus is on the players right now. It’s in a different spot. But it’ll be a cool moment,” Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on Facing a Good Georgia Tech Defense

“They’ve got some guys that have played significant football. They’ve got a transfer, who we’ve seen before who’s a really good athlete. They’ve got another kid playing corner who’s a good player. They’ve got some athletes at safety that can move around and give you some issues. We’re excited about going to face a good group. I think our guys understand it, especially with the league that we play in, that these type of games and going against these type of groups, they bring the best out of you. Some of our best games have been against really good opponents. When we go to practice each week, we try to make sure that we respect those opponents. We talk in depth about what they do, what they like, and how we want to attack to give our guys a real plan. So I’m excited about getting down there on the road and facing a good team and seeing what we’re made of," Pope said.

Kelsey Pope on What it Will Take For Someone to Earn the Last Starting Job

Tennessee wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. (1) during Tennessee football preseason practice in Knoxville, Tennessee, Aug. 14, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“I think earning it first starts with practice. That always starts it, for sure. I think for guys to really solidify that, you do that in Neyland on Saturday, on the game field on Saturday. If one of those guys are ready to step up and really take that thing over, you guys will know before I do because you’ll see it on game day. You’ll see it the same way I do, with consistency, with playmaking and all those things we really preach. I’m excited for one of those guys to step up and do that,” Pope said.

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