KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The second spring of the Josh Heupel era of Tennessee football is underway and the contrast in the execution of all three phases compared to one year ago is significant. Heupel put his Volunteers through the first of 15 spring workouts on Tuesday morning at Haslam Field.”(The) kids are able to focus on the details of what we are asking them to do, the coaching staff is in sync and on the same page and should help propel us to a great amount of growth here,” Heupel said. “The difference in year one and year two is light years different. There is so much familiarity and understanding in what we are doing, coaches and players alike.”

After guiding Tennessee to a remarkable turnaround in his first season last fall, Heupel returns his starting quarterback (Hendon Hooker), his starting running back (Jabari Small), his top receiving target (Cedric Tillman), his top tackler (Jeremy Banks) and his top pass rusher (Byron Young). That combined with the departure of only one position coach provides stability and familiarity for a group looking to make major strides this spring.

Heupel tabbed former UT offensive analyst Kelsey Pope to be the Volunteers’ new wide receivers coach after Kodi Burns accepted a similar position with the New Orleans Saints last month.

“I hired him because there was no doubt that he was the right guy for the job,” Heupel said. “I believe in who he is and how he will help those guys grow. He has done a great job with those guys in the year that he has been here. We have great trust and confidence in him. He is going to be a great recruiter because he is relationship-driven and great communicator.”

Despite the absence of a traditional spring game due to construction in Neyland Stadium, Heupel said Tuesday that he is excited about the long-term growth of the program.

“A 100+ million-dollar project inside of Neyland Stadium, what we have with the Anderson Training Center, a 30+ million-dollar expansion, they…