Former Vols standout joins Josh Heupel's coaching staff at Tennessee
A former Tennessee Vols standout has joined Josh Heupel's coaching staff at UT. Tennessee announced on Tuesday that former Vols defensive lineman Robert Ayers is joining Heupel's staff as a defensive graduate assistant. Ayers played at UT from 2005 to 2008 before embarking on a nearly 10-year NFL career. The New Jersey native was the […]
A former Tennessee Vols standout has joined Josh Heupel's coaching staff at UT.
Tennessee announced on Tuesday that former Vols defensive lineman Robert Ayers is joining Heupel's staff as a defensive graduate assistant.
Ayers played at UT from 2005 to 2008 before embarking on a nearly 10-year NFL career.
The New Jersey native was the defensive line coach in 2020 and defensive coordinator in 2021 at Knoxville Catholic High School. In 2022, Ayers was the defensive coordinator at Oak Ridge High School (he was named 2022 Tennessee Class 5A Region 3 Assistant Coach of the Year).
Ayers doesn't have a previous connection to Heupel.
Heupel, however, has shown over the last two years that he greatly values former Vols. So it's no surprise that he's giving Ayers a coaching job in the SEC.
It'll be interesting to see if Ayers quickly moves up the coaching ranks. Tennessee could have another internal option if there are any defensive staff openings in the coming years.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
