Just In: Jay Graham returns home to Tennessee as running backs coach

Jeremy Pruitt is back at it again, as he has hired Jay Graham to his staff in Knoxville. The news was broke by Austin Price of Volquest. Graham, a former Vol was previously at Texas A&M with Jimbo Fisher and at Florida State with Fisher prior to that. Graham was with Fisher’s staff from 2013 until this news broke. During that time, Graham won a national title with the Seminoles and had a chance to coach with Jeremy, who was the defensive coordinator during the 2013 season. It is believed Graham was the top target on Jeremy Pruitt’s big board, at least for the Tennessee fan base.

Graham has served at Tennessee as a coach two different times. In 2005, Graham served as a graduate assistant, and then again as Running Backs coach in 2012.

As a player, Jay Graham rushed for 2,609 yards for Tennessee and was an All-SEC running back. Graham was taken in the 3rd round by the Baltimore Ravens coming out of college, and he spent time with various teams in the NFL.

As a coach, Graham has had a hand in recruiting and developing players such as Dalvin Cook, Cam Akers, Isaiah Spiller, Devonta Freeman, and Trayveon Williams. Akers is expected to be a pick in this years draft, while the others mentioned, minus Spiller, who is still at Texas A&M, were taken in the draft during their respective classes.

Graham brings a different element to recruiting for Tennessee, in the fact, he is a former player, who also had a high rate of success at the University. While, his track record since that time speaks volumes to the caliber of coach that Tennessee is getting.

It is worth noting that Graham handled a large portion of Zachary Evans recruitment for Texas A&M. There is no doubt that this hire should help the Vols on the Evans front, as they are trying to land his commitment next week.

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