• Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer completed his coaching staff for the 2006 football season by naming Kurt Ropoer an assistant coach for running backs.

• Roper, 34, has a history with Tennessee football as both he and his father served on previous UT coaching staffs. Roper returns to Knoxville having spent the 1996-98 seasons as a graduate assistant coach for the Vols.

• His father, Bobby, coached linebackers under Johnny Majors from 1977-79.

• "Kurt's experience here with defense and special teams and at Mississippi with Coach Cutcliffe makes for an easy transition," Fulmer said.

• Roper comes to the Vols from Kentucky, where he spent one season as quarterbacks coach under Rich Brooks.

• Prior to that, he served seven years at Ole Miss on Cutcliffe's staff and helped lead the Rebels to five bowl games. His duties in Oxford were with quarterbacks for the entire tenure along with the added responsibility of passing game coordinator from 2002-04.

• Among those under his tutelage was Eli Manning, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

• "It helps to know what kind of player it takes to play at this level, to win championships at this level and what kind of coaching you go up against," Roper said. "It's about knowing how much it takes to prepare to win a football game."

• Roper's time at Tennessee was with the defense -- primarily defensive backs -- and special teams.

• He helped the Vols to two bowl games and was headed for the BCS national championship contest when the opportunity called to join Mississippi's staff.

• "I've known from an early age that I wanted to be a football coach," he said. "Following in my dad's footsteps always has been a dream.

• "This was one of his favorite stops, coaching here at Tennessee. This is such a highly successful program, to come back is a lot of fun and my family is excited about it."

• Born in Ames, Iowa, Roper played college football at Rice and earned three letters as a quarterback and defensive back, graduating in 1995.

• He spent one year as a graduate assistant in the video department at Mississippi State before coming to Tennessee, where he earned his master's degree in 1998.

• Roper is married to the former Britt Albertson of High Point, N.C.