Jeremy Pruitt has been bringing in some solid names as part of his coaching staff at Tennessee since he was officially announced on Thursday, December 7th as the Vols’ next head football coach. And now another name has emerged who could be joining his support staff.
According to a report from Football Scoop, Austin Thomas has been getting considerable consideration from Tennessee. Thomas, 31, is the General Manager for LSU and would supposedly be taking a similar role with the Vols if he is added on staff. The report notes that both Pruitt and Thomas share the same agent.
Thomas was promoted to General Manager after Ed Orgeron was named permanent head coach of LSU in November of 2016. The title of General Manager is rare in college football, and he’s the only GM in the SEC. There’s only one other person with that title in all of college football.
According to Thomas’ bio on LSU’s website, Thomas “works closely with NFL personnel to maximize the opportunity for LSU student-athletes at the next level.” Thomas was named the Personnel Director of the Year in 2015 and a finalist for the award in 2014 for his work with LSU’s recruiting and roster.
He also served as Bowling Green’s director of recruiting and player personnel before joining LSU. Before that, he was on staff with USC and was a defensive and recruiting assistant for a year before moving into the operations side of things in 2011. He was promoted to assistant director of operations/recruiting in 2012 and held that position till 2013. He was a recruiting intern at Tennessee and served as a defensive assistant with the Vols during the 2009 season.
Thomas is a graduate from UT and is from Franklin, TN. He graduated with an undergraduate degree from Lipscomb in 2008 and earned his master’s degree in sport management from Tennessee.
One Response
Why they didn’t get Tee Martian for QB Coach .