Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt continues to use his Alabama connections to his benefit with the Vols.
According to a report from Matt Zenitz of AL.com, Pruitt is hiring away Kerry Stevenson from Alabama. Stevenson has been the Tide’s Director of Player Development and has been on Alabama’s staff since 2013. That means Pruitt and Stevenson worked together at Alabama for two years when Pruitt was the Tide’s defensive coordinator in 2016 and 2017.
Stevenson is expected to be on Pruitt’s staff in a support role, but his specific title hasn’t been designated yet.
Before joining Alabama in 2013, Stevenson was the head coach of Vigor High School in Mobile, Alabama. As head coach there, Stevenson won a state title in 2008 and won 85 total games. Vigor has produced a ton of collegiate talent over the years, and they’ve had several NFL players on their roster as well. Willie Anderson played at Vigor, and they’ve more recently had players like Sen’Derrick Marks and Jalston Fowler play before going to college then the NFL.
Stevenson is also a published author. He wrote the book “Inspirations in Life: Inspired by Faith, Family, Friends & Football.”
Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Joe Osovet was being promoted from his role in player development to be the Director of Program Development at UT. So there’s a chance Stevenson is taking the support role that Osovet left behind after his promotion.
The other two assistants on Pruitt’s staff who serve in player development roles are former Tennessee player Kevin Simon and Patrick Abernathy.
