Tag: Brian Niedermeyer

Quarterback Sullivan McDermott commits to Tennessee after conversation with Brian Niedermeyer

Quarterback Sullivan McDermott thanks Brian Niedermeyer, commits to Vols.

2021 quarterback Sullivan McDermott has committed to Tennessee.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound signal-caller is from Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

“I have decided to enroll early in college and forego my senior season at Marvin Ridge,” McDermott said on Twitter.

McDermott does not field any Power Five scholarship offers, but has received interest from Michigan State, North Carolina State, North Carolina and Virginia.

McDermott thanked Tennessee inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer for a conversation regarding his preferred walk-on opportunity with the Vols.

“After a great talk with coach Brian Niedermeyer, I am very grateful and excited to have the opportunity to play football at the next level with a PWO offer from the University of Tennessee,” McDermott said on Dec. 11.

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What Jeremy Pruitt’s defensive staff could look like in 2021

What Jeremy Pruitt’s defensive staff could look like in 2021.

November in college football means agents and schools begin to posture coaches for jobs in an attempt to better their programs and careers.

Will Muschamp was relieved of his duties as head coach at South Carolina Sunday. He is now a candidate to join Jeremy Pruitt’s coaching staff in 2021 at Tennessee.

Pruitt’s defensive staff could also see two other positions being filled for on-field capacities.

Tennessee’s defensive line unit has been vacant following Jimmy Brumbaugh being relieved of his duties during the 2020 season.

Inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer’s contract is set to expire following the 2020 season on Jan. 31, 2021.

Vols Wire takes a look at what Tennessee’s defensive staff could look like next season.

NEXT: What Jeremy Pruitt’s defensive staff could look like in 2021

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

Phillip Fulmer, Jeremy Pruitt, Vols’ assistant coach contracts and when they expire

Phillip Fulmer, Jeremy Pruitt, Vols’ assistant coach contracts and when they expire.

KNOXVILLE — Four games remain in the 2020 regular season.

Tennessee (2-4, 2-4 SEC) opened the 2020 campaign with wins at South Carolina and against Missouri. The Vols have since lost to Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas.

Ahead of Tennessee’s next contest against Texas A&M at Neyland Stadium Saturday (7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN), Vols Wire takes a look at Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer, head coach Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols’ assistant coaches contracts and when they expire. Contracts are provided by the University of Tennessee.

Rush Propst discusses the State of the Tennessee program under Jeremy Pruitt

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Phillip Fulmer

  • Through December 31, 2021

NEXT: University of Tennessee football contracts

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11

Brian Niedermeyer coaching inside linebackers ‘a sense of comfort’

Brian Niedermeyer coaching inside linebackers a sense of comfort.

KNOXVILLE – During the offseason, Tennessee assistant Brian Niedermeyer changed positions.

He spent the last two seasons overseeing the Vols’ tight end unit and will now coach inside linebackers in 2020.

For Niedermeyer, the move to defense is “a sense of comfort.”

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Immediately following his playing days at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Niedermeyer began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant in 2012.

He then began to climb up the coaching ladder as he joined the Miami Hurricanes, assisting linebackers coach Michael Barrow in day-to-day operations as a quality control coach.

Then he was hired as wide receivers coach and offensive recruiting coordinator at Division III East Texas Baptist under head coach Joshua Eargle.

Niedermeyer would begin working under then-defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt at Georgia (2015) and Alabama (2016) as a graduate assistant.

Ahead of the 2020 campaign, Niedermeyer met with media to discuss how much more of a natural fit he is coaching linebackers and if it helps that he recruited Henry To’o To’o and Quavaris Crouch.

“I think it’s making a relationship with all of those guys: Aaron Beasley, Solon Page, Jeremy Banks,” Niedermeyer said on a Zoom call with reporters. “It’s key, no matter what position you’re in, to have a good relationship with all of those guys.

“For me, moving back to linebackers was a sense of comfort because I started out there when I first coached in college with Michael Barrow at the University of Miami and moving on through with Coach Pruitt, and then at Georgia and Alabama. It’s been a much easier transition for me than if I was going the other direction.”

Henry To’o To’o discusses Brian Niedermeyer coaching inside linebackers

Henry To’o To’o discusses Brian Niedermeyer coaching inside linebackers.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee returned to the practice field last week for the first time since March.

During the offseason, Brian Niedermeyer moved from coaching tight ends to inside linebackers for the Vols.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

The move allows for Niedermeyer to coach sophomore linebacker Henry To’o To’o. Niedermeyer recruited To’o To’o to Tennessee from De La Salle High School in Concord, California.

During the first week of fall training camp, To’o To’o discussed having Niedermeyer overseeing the inside linebackers unit this season.

“He is a real juiced guy,” To’o To’o said of Niedermeyer. “He is excited about every single thing we do. It’s a blessing to have him recruit me and have him as a coach. He hasn’t changed. He is still the same person that I know and met since day one.

“He is a really smart guy, knows his schemes and knows how a linebacker is supposed to play. Being able to have Niedermeyer there has been a true blessing. One thing I love about him is he brings that juice every single day. He wants the best out of us every single day, whether it’s watching film or on the field running to the ball. It’s a true blessing to have a coach like him.”

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Tennessee coaches dominating SEC recruiter rankings

Tennessee coaches dominating SEC recruiter rankings.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee has taken full advantage of the college football dead period caused by the coronavirus pandemic, having hauled in a number of blue-chip prospects to vaunt its 2021 recruiting class to No. 2 in the country, according to 247Sports.

The Vols are doing so behind a coaching staff filled with experienced and obsessive recruiters, whose prowess has been on full display for the last month. 247Sports rates individual recruiters just as it does recruiting classes, and UT currently occupies the top five spots in the 2021 SEC recruiter rankings.

Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley leads the way at the No. 1 spot, and he has been the most successful recruiter of this cycle. Ansley has been the primary recruiter in landing 4-star Alabama linebacker Dylan Brooks, 4-star Florida safety Kamar Wilcoxson, 3-star Florida safety De’Shawn Rucker and 3-star Alabama cornerback Jay Jones.

Behind Ansley at No. 2 is recently named running backs coach Jay Graham, who has landed two 4-star running backs in Cody Brown and Tiyon Evans for his alma mater.

Another former Tennessee star in wide receivers coach Tee Martin sits at No. 3 in the SEC after helping land three wideouts so far in the 2021 class, including Alabama 4-star Jordan Mosley.

Tight ends coach Joe Osovet is No. 4, and has been instrumental in recruiting north, earning commitments from two 4-star Baltimore products in defensive tackle KaTron Evans and outside linebacker Aaron Willis.

Finally, inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer rounds out the top five. The former 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year helped the Vols land 5-star outside linebacker Terrence Williams.

Before this stretch of commitments for the 2021 class began, Tennessee fans knew what kind of recruiters it had on its staff. In head coach Jeremy Pruitt, Martin and Niedermeyer, the Vols have three former 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year recipients.

Now with Ansley, Osovet and Graham developing crucial relationships as well, the sky is the limit for what type of players Tennessee can bring to Knoxville, and it is showing so far in the 2021 class.

Vols’ 2021 commitment tracker

Sideline to sideline: Tennessee’s 2020 linebackers

Sideline to sideline: Tennessee’s 2020 linebackers

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee will kickoff the 2020 season on Sept. 5 against Charlotte at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols have two new coaches overseeing the linebacker unit in 2020.

Brian Niedermeyer spent the last two seasons as the Vols’ tight ends coach and moves to inside linebackers for the 2020 campaign.

Shelton Felton returns to Tennessee as the outside linebackers coach. Felton served as a quality control analyst under Jeremy Pruitt in 2018.

The linebacker unit will have the ability to play fast and physical from sideline to sideline this season.

Player personnel for the unit will showcase Kivon Bennett, Quavaris Crouch, Deandre Johnson, J.J. Peterson and Henry To’o To’o throughout the JACK, MIKE, WILL, SAM and BUCK spots.

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Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Felton served as defensive coordinator for Rush Propst at Colquitt County High School from 2013-14.

“He is thorough,” Propst told Vols Wire of Felton. “Players like him, and he demands a bunch. He is high-energy and is what you look for in a coach. To me, I put him on a top pedestal of some of the best coaches that I’ve had. I have had 25 guys coach college football and he is right there at the top. He is a heck of a football coach.

“He is full of energy and is very knowledgeable about the game. Kids love him and he gets the most out of his players. To me, that is the mark of a great football coach.”

Brian Niedermeyer Spring 2020
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Niedermeyer started his coaching career at Arkansas-Pine Bluff as a defensive student assistant in 2012.

In 2013, Niedermeyer served as a volunteer analyst and assisting linebackers at Miami.

He also served as a defensive coach for Pruitt at Georgia and Alabama. Niedermeyer was a graduate assistant at Georgia in 2015 and worked with linebackers. He then followed Pruitt to Alabama and served as a defensive graduate assistant and worked with linebackers in 2016.

Brian Niedermeyer ‘a stud’ on the recruiting trail

What the Jay Graham hire could mean for Tennessee in recruiting

Jay Graham joins Tennessee’s coaching staff.

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee finally secured a new running backs coach, as former Tennessee player and Texas A&M assistant Jay Graham joined the staff early in the week to replace the outgoing David Johnson, who left to reunite with Mike Norvell at Florida State.

It’s a big get for Tennessee, not only for the familiarity Graham already has in the building as a former player and coach, but for recruiting as well.

Johnson was a key piece in Tennessee’s recruiting cycle, particularly for the work he did in Memphis. Head coach Jeremy Pruitt needed someone who could step in, and not only to continue developing a running back room that returns every starter from 2019, but to avoid missing a beat on the recruiting trail.

It starts and ends with 5-star Zach Evans, rated the No. 2 running back in the 2020 class on the 247Sports Composite.

Graham was Evans’ primary recruiter while at Texas A&M, and now joins forces with UT tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer to try and secure the signature of the Houston, Texas native.

Evans was on Tennessee’s campus for an official visit over the weekend. He was officially offered by Tennessee on Dec. 21, 2017, two weeks following Pruitt’s hiring as head coach at UT.

Georgia was steadily in the running for Evans, but recently picked up a commitment from 4-star running back Dajiun Edwards, the second running back commitment in Kirby Smart’s 2020 class.

If this deters Evans from pledging to the Bulldogs, it could put Tennessee in a good spot, with Graham arriving from College Station on good timing. Texas A&M remains high on Evans’ list, but seeing his primary recruiter switch schools could pay dividends for the Vols.

Graham is sixth on Tennessee’s all-time rushing list, after a playing career that lasted from 1993 to 1996. After spending 2012 as the running backs coach under then-head coach Derek Dooley in Knoxville, Graham joined Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Florida State. Graham then followed Fisher to Texas A&M in 2018. This will be Graham’s second stint on the same staff with Pruitt, as the two worked together for one season with the Seminoles.

Graham’s hire is a big get for Tennessee regardless of where Evans chooses to play. An Evans signature, however, would make it one of the best hires Pruitt has made since arriving in Knoxville as head coach.

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s tight ends in 2020

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s tight ends in 2020.

The tight end position is one that Tennessee has not gotten a lot out of in the past two seasons, in terms of pass-catching production.

Dominick Wood-Anderson came in out of junior college in 2018 as one of the top signees in Jeremy Pruitt’s first class, but ended his UT career with just 408 yards and three touchdowns on 38 catches over two seasons.

It is no secret that the Vols have utilized the tight end position as more of a run blocking tool, evidenced by the amount of playing time seen by redshirt junior Austin Pope in 2019. Pope started 11 games and played in all 13, but caught just four passes for a total of 21 yards. When Pope was in, the Vols were comfortable running behind him.

Pope is back for his redshirt senior year in 2020, with a few other unproven prospects waiting in the wings. Tennessee knows it has a solid group of blocking tight ends, but can one of them step up as a receiving threat in Pruitt’s third season?

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is no stranger to deploying two-tight end sets, and only one other member of the group brings back extended experience in 2020. As Princeton Fant enters his redshirt junior year, he will be asked to step in with more snaps towards the end of a college career that has seen him bounce from running back to tight end. Fant caught just two balls for 19 yards in 2019 while appearing in eight games.

The unknown quantities in tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer’s room are the duo from the 2018 class, Sean Brown and Jackson Lowe. Brown at 6-foot-5, 241-pounds was the No. 40 tight end in his class in the 247Sports Composite, while Lowe was a 4-star prospect rated as the No. 12 tight end prospect.

Neither player made an impact for Tennessee in 2019, but will steadily be in the rotation in 2020 after the Vols missed out on highly-touted prospects Arik Gilbert and Darnell Washington.

An outlier in the group is rising redshirt junior Jacob Warren out of local Farragut High School, who was committed to Butch Jones as part of the 2018 class and stayed with the program when Pruitt took over. Warren appeared in limited action through five games in 2019, and has been working on improving his size since Pruitt arrived on campus. Warren is now measured at 6-foot-6, 241-pounds on Tennessee’s official website.

Niedermeyer has proven to be an elite recruiter on UT’s staff, but has not gotten the production that was expected, particularly from the outgoing Wood-Anderson. Run-blocking will be a strength of the unit in 2020, but the ability to provide another option for whoever is operating under center for Tennessee is a question mark.

Jeremy Pruitt, Brian Niedermeyer recruiting in Reno following Vanderbilt win

Class of 2020 football recruiting.

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt and tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer were recruiting in Reno, Nev., following the Vols’ regular season finale victory over Vanderbilt.

The Vols finished 7-5 during the regular season.

Pruitt and Niedermeyer visited linebacker Vai Kaho. Kaho is a 2020 prospect from Bishop Manogue Catholic High School in Reno.

The Vols offered the 2020 linebacker on Oct. 22. Kaho has been committed to Nevada since April 28.

2020 recruiting class signing dates

The 2019 Early Signing Period will take place Dec. 18-20 and National Signing Day will be held on Feb. 5.

The Vols’ 2020 commitment tracker can be followed below.

University of Tennessee’s 2020 football recruiting class tracker