Things have not been going so well for the Arizona State Sun Devils football program. On Friday, offensive coordinator Zak Hill resigned from his position amid recruiting scandal controversy within the program, but he was not alone in leaving the Arizona State program. Former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman was among the four coaches who resigned from the Sun Devils staff, continuing the fallout from alleged recruiting violations.
Breneman was previously placed on administrative leave as the alleged recruiting violations were being investigated. Arizona State had allegedly been conducting recruiting activities that were against NCAA-mandated protocols put into effect in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is alleged that Arizona State continued to host recruits on campus for recruiting visits during what was supposed to be an extended dead period for on-campus visitations and interactions. Breneman allegedly paid $600 for a recruit to visit Arizona State’s campus from Philadelphia when he was a graduate assistant with the program.
Breneman was one of the top recruits brought to Penn State under former head coach Bill O’Brien. Breneman’s commitment to Penn State was a major victory at the time given Penn State’s hefty sanctions as a result of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The four-star recruit from Pennsylvania enrolled at Penn State early and played for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman. He missed the entire 2014 season with a knee injury and only appeared in two games in 2015 while battling injuries once again.
Breneman briefly decided to retire from playing football as a result but he continued his football career at UMass as a graduate transfer in 2016. With the Minutemen, Breneman was a two-time Mackey Award semifinalist and he earned second-team All-American honors from numerous outlets, including USA Today.
Breneman joined the Arizona State football staff in 2020 as an offensive assistant coach. He was promoted to the role of tight ends coach in 2021 and, at the time, was one of the youngest position coaches at a Power Five program. His quick rise led to Breneman being named among 247 Sports’ 30 Top Coaches Under 30 in 2020.
Now, Breneman is out of the coaching game for the immediate future. Whether we see him again in a coaching role remains to be seen.
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