Joey Halzle opens up about his longstanding relationship with Casey Clausen's family

After former offensive coordinator, Alex Golesh left last season to become the next head coach at USF, Tennessee decided to promote quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to take over the position. Halzle is a California native who spent his collegiate years in Norman, OK, as a Sooner. So how did he end up with the Volunteers?

Before joining Tennessee in 2021 as the program’s quarterbacks coach, it didn’t appear to be a connection between the two. But the Volunteers’ new offensive coordinator recently revealed that he had a close connection prior to 2021 with a family close to the team. During a recent interview, Halzle opened up about his longstanding relationship with former Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen and his family.

“I’ve known them since, what, shoot 2003. So, (I’ve) known the family,” said Halzle. “Now, Casey and Rick were gone for a good part of that, you know, doing their whole thing in college, and Casey, he was taking a shot at the NFL and doing all that type of stuff. But his sister Katie was my age. So we went through our entire high school experience. So I know the Clausen’s really, really, well. (I’ve) known them since 2023, 20 years now.”

Casey and Rick Clausen are both former starting quarterbacks for the Volunteers, with Casey being the better-known of the two. Casey played all four years at Tennessee, earning freshman all-SEC honors in 2000 and a Florida Citrus Bowl MVP in 2002. He ended his time at Tennessee, completing 775 of his 1270 pass attempts for 9707 yards, completing 61 percent of his passes, with 75 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.

Halzle’s success as Tennessee’s QB coach last season

Halzle may have a good relationship with a former Tennessee star quarterback. But his ability to grow and develop young talent has earned him the offensive coordinator position. Halzle was a huge part of the offensive coaching team that helped turn the Volunteers’ offense into a juggernaut. A lot of the success also lies with former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, who is now in the NFL.

Hooker finished last season nearly completing 70 percent of his pass attempts. He also threw for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Unfortunately, he missed time at the end of the season after tearing his ACL. But Halzle has his backup Joe Milton geared up and ready to go for Tennessee’s final two games of the season, with the last one being a 31-14 victory over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

With Hooker gone and now a member of the Detroit Lions, Halzle has a huge task in front of him: finding the Vols’ next starting quarterback.