The Tennessee Volunteers completed a big practice on Friday, which is the final practice ahead of the first scrimmage. Following the practice, Kelsey Pope and select players spoke to the media. Here is what he had to say.Incase you would rather watch the video: click HERE.Kelsey Pope on Joakim DodsonTennessee wide receiver Joakim Dodson (89) celebrates after scoring a touchdown after catching the ball during a kickoff return during the 2025 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 30, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect"Yeah, I think those types of moments, they definitely add to confidence. But I think ultimately as players, you've got to choose to use that. And Joe has done that so far in camp. For him, just coming off the offseason, individually, his biggest focus for me was just to be more consistent, and we’ve got to be able to really be able to add value in the run game for the position that he plays. So coming off of that touchdown, I think he's done that and he’s tried to take advantage of that momentum. He’s had a solid camp so far.”Kelsey Pope on Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley Feeling EstablishedTennessee wide receiver Mike Matthews (4) speaks to the media during Tennessee football’s media day on Aug. 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect“I think the key to having that edge is not saying what you just said, feeling established. At any moment, once they feel like I’ve arrived, that’s the wrong mentality. And so I think what I’ve got to do as a coach is gauge that, right. If I sense one of them or both of them looking too far ahead or feeling established, I’ve got to nip that in the bud right now, and I think what I’ve got from those guys this camp is two hungry guys that are going to break the strain and compete every single play. We put Mike up in the team meeting, the offensive unit meeting, for like four plays, and he didn’t touch the ball on either one of them. But it’s his effort and his strain and the way he’s competing without the ball. Braylon and Mike, both of those guys had success. I’m talking to them about becoming complete receivers. We ain’t talking about going over 1,000 yards or knocking out 10 touchdowns or these milestones or accolades when it comes to numbers. What we want to focus on is being complete wideouts, and I think all the other things–success, that stuff will come.”Kelsey Pope on Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews' To-Do ListTennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley (14) speaks to the media during Tennessee football’s media day on Aug. 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect"Yeah, they got different skill sets, so I think, for one, it’s important for those guys to identify what their superpower is. Once you go to the next level, you’ve got to be able to translate into an NFL system right away. So understanding what my superpower is, no matter what day, what the weather looks like, how I’m feeling, that has to be concrete. And then it’s time to check off things that I need to get better.""For Mike, it was about him playing on the lower pad, whether that’s releases, topping routes, any of that stuff. And also just finishing catches, contesting catches. The hardest ones are when I’m by myself, but I think he struggled a lot with catches, not because he had a hand-eye coordination issue. It was just a focus issue. Like, it could be things in my eyesight that distract me, and I lose focus, so trying to put him in those situations.""For Braylon, his superpower was he’s got to be able to separate at every level. He’s got to be the best separator in the conference, in the country. That’s got to be constant, no matter who you play. And then you add on to that things that he had to get better at, which is playing with more physicality in the run game. When guys are pressing him, I’m able to play with physicality in the pass game. And also start making those 50/50 catches, deep balls, jump ball situations, getting used to those. And so what you do is, you talk to them, you compile a detailed plan, and you have checkpoints that you can see and tell them periodically. Are we on the path? Are we making momentum? Are we making leeway to where we want to get to? And I think those guys, those are training you in the right direction.”Kelsey Pope on Radarious Jackson Coming Out of the No-Contact Jersey Ahead of the ScrimmageTennessee wide receiver Radarious Jackson (3) during Tennessee football preseason practice in Knoxville, Tennessee, Aug. 14, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect“Radarious has always got the right mentality, man. He’s usually the hardest worker in the receiver room. You don’t have to really get a fire lit under him for him to get started. I’m telling all these guys, we’ve got to play well under the lights. We’re going to play a lot of teams in this league that are really good. So my focus to these guys is: in games where we have to be perfect, will you be able to? Because it’s easy to say you’ve been strain and live with the results. Well, in this league we play, effort don’t get you results a lot of the time. So in situations where we have to be perfect, third down, two minutes, any of the situations, when we go in that stadium, it’s no different. You guys have to perform. So putting pressure on those guys to make sure mentally and physically they’re ready to go and do just that when we go under the lights. So it’s not just for Radarious, it’s for all those guys. I’m kind of trying to get a clue into that. We have to play well in the stadium.”Kelsey Pope on the Pass Game Coordinator Check ListTennessee wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. (1) goes through a drill in front of wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope (center, back) during the Vols' spring football practice in Knoxville on March 17, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect"As far as the coordinator thing, I’m really looking for things that we may not have had answers to last year. You look at different looks or games you feel like you struggled. Or even games where you felt like you may have scored a lot of points, so we were good productively. And we just felt like we could add a new wrinkle. So, I think being able to add on to those, to where it still is within your identity. For me, as a pass game coordinator, those are the things I’m usually paying attention to to help keep us balanced on all things.”Kelsey Pope on Getting Mike Matthews to Finish Every PlayNov 22, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Mike Matthews (4) works out prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect“You’ve got to want to. You’ve got to remind these guys of their goals and dreams and why they’re here. We do a segment called word of the day. And I asked the guys a question a couple practices ago. I’m like, what do you need to be reminded of when you’re tired? And you get a wide array of different answers. One guy’s like, man coach, I need to be reminded about me and my mom and siblings, we used to stay in the homeless shelter when I was seven or eight years old. And another guy, his answer is, man, I need to be reminded that my mom’s in the hospital back home and I’m the only one that she won’t depend on. It’s got to be want to. You’ve got to be inspired. Even when you don’t feel like it. So, I think that’s part of a coach is you’ve got to know the guys are in your room so you can press those buttons when they need to be. And for him, Mike’s a naturally motivated kid. For him, it’s just putting things in perspective. Sometimes he’s too motivated. One bad play can kind of get him in his head. So, for him, as he’s grown, talking to him about letting go of that one and playing the next one. And you’ll be way more productive than you just honing in and compartmentalizing on one play.”Kelsey Pope on What He Wants to See From Travis Smith Jr. This SeasonTennessee wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. (1) during Tennessee football preseason practice in Knoxville, Tennessee, Aug. 14, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect“Physical. Travis has got to be the most physical guy in my room. Just like you, when everybody comes to our practice, the first thing they ask is, who is number one? Because physically, he looks like Goliath. And my message to him is you never want to look like Goliath and play like Jane. You want to be physical the entire time. We’ve got to go be that, right? And for Travis, he’s got to work at it because it doesn’t come naturally to him. But he’s done a really good job of embracing physicality. And you start to see him kind of turn that corner and play physical. For him, it's just doing it consistently. But that’s my message to him is just go be the most physical guy in the room. And he wants to. He absolutely wants to.”Kelsey Pope on the Search for a Third StarterTennessee quarterback Joe Milton III cheering on teammates by wide receiver coach Kelsey Pope during the Orange & White spring game, in Neyland Stadium, Saturday, April 15, 2023.