Heupel Adds Former Tennessee Standout To Coaching Staff

Head coach Josh Heupel has done an excellent job of development while at Tennessee. That development entails players and coaches, as several assistants have done excellent things with and after Tennessee.

He added another defensive staffer on Tuesday. Defensive end Robert Ayers Jr. will join the staff as a graduate assistant after spending the past two seasons as a high school defensive coordinator. Ayers coached at Knoxville Catholic High School and Oak Ridge High School before joining the Volunteers. In 2022, Oak Ridge went 7-4 and allowed 23.9 points per game under Ayers, pitching two shutouts.

Ayers spent nine seasons in the NFL with four different franchises. He logged 192 tackles, 34.5 sacks, and nine forced fumbles in 120 career games. Ayers played four seasons with Tennessee, totaling 113 tackles, 31.5 TFLs, and nine sacks.

He was the No. 18 overall pick to the Denver Broncos in the 2009 NFL Draft. Ayers has a plethora of defensive knowledge that he can apply to help some of Tennessee's young front-seven defenders; the Volunteers lost several impactful contributors to the NFL Draft and the transfer portal.

Assistants routinely go on to become position coaches and more in the college football world. For example, Heupel promoted wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope after he played a pivotal role as an offensive analyst during the 2021 season. Coaches can and will progress under Heupel, and he just gave one of the best defenders in Tennessee history an opportunity.

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