Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel announced the hiring of three assistant coaches Tuesday as the Volunteers continue preparations toward spring practice.
The assistant coaches include:Levorn “Chop” Harbin – Outside Linebackers
Evan Crabtree – Special Teams Coordinator
John Bonamego – Assistant Special Teams
Both Harbin and Crabtree have served on Heupel’s Tennessee staff as analysts. Bonamego joins the staff with 35 years of experience at the professional or college level, including six stints with NFL teams as a special teams coordinator or assistant.
“We are excited about the cohesiveness of our coaching staff,” Heupel said. “Chop and Evan understand the culture and standard of excellence that we have built here over the past four years. Both have strong relationships with our players, and it will make for a seamless transition as we get ready for spring practice. Chop has been a valuable part of our recruiting efforts.
“We have taken great pride in our special teams units being among the best in the country since we arrived here. Evan has played a pivotal role in that success. John owns nearly two decades of coaching special teams at the highest level. As a former head coach, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge into our program.”
Harbin joined the Vols as a defensive analyst in 2021, and he was promoted to senior defensive analyst in 2022. He worked closely with defensive line coach Rodney Garner in developing one of the elite units in the country. Under their watch, the Vols have produced back-to-back first-team All-SEC defensive linemen and will soon add to their NFL Draft pick total this spring. “Chop” helped mentor the LEOs and James Pearce Jr., who was a semifinalist for the 2024 Bednarik and Lombardi Awards and tallied 29.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks in his three seasons.
Harbin came to Rocky Top after serving as the Director of Recruiting at Auburn for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Harbin was previously a defensive analyst at Auburn from 2013-14. Harbin spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Louisiana, coaching the defensive line from 2015-16 and the defensive tackles in 2017.
A native of Butler, Alabama, Harbin also coached stints at Tuskegee University (2006-12) and Georgia Southern (2002-03). He spent one year (2004) as a pro scouting assistant with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, two seasons (1999-2000) as an administrative assistant at Auburn, and he was a student assistant at North Alabama where he worked with the team’s defensive line that was part of the No. 1-ranked defensive unit in the GSC in 1998.
Crabtree worked closely as a graduate assistant and analyst with former Vols assistant Mike Ekeler from 2022-24. Tennessee has ranked either first or second in the SEC in punt return average in all four seasons in Heupel’s tenure. True freshman Boo Carter was the catalyst for a Vol unit that amassed a nation-best 424 punt return yards in 2024. Meanwhile, Tennessee led the nation in percentage of punts downed inside the 10-yard line (28.3 percent) thanks to the spectacular play of redshirt sophomore Jackson Ross.
Crabtree’s 2023 season on staff saw the Vols rank in the nation’s top 25 in five different categories, including blocked kicks (4 – third), blocked punts (2 – fourth), net punting (41.3 – 22nd), punt return defense (0.85 – sixth) and punt return average (12.3 – 15th). The Vols led the SEC in punt return average, blocked kicks and blocked punts that year.
A native of Dublin, Ohio, Crabtree spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater of Miami (Ohio), working with special teams. He was a four-year starting long snapper for the RedHawks from 2016-19.
Bonamego started his NFL coaching career in 1999. In total, he worked as either a special teams assistant or coordinator for six different NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2002, 2012), Green Bay Packers (2003-05), New Orleans Saints (2006-07, 2011), Miami Dolphins (2008-10), Detroit Lions (2013-14, 2019) and Los Angeles Rams (2020-21). The Rams won Super Bowl LVI in his final season.
Bonamego most recently served as the senior special teams analyst at Iowa State in 2022. His one season with the Cyclones saw the program’s punt return defense rank seventh nationally and first in the Big 12, allowing just 2.64 yards per return.
Bonamego, who earned his degree from Central Michigan in 1987, was the head coach at his alma mater from 2015-18. He led the Chippewas to three bowl games from 2015-17, including a share of the Mid-American West Division title in 2015.
Tennessee begins spring practice on March 7.
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