While Josh Heupel’s decision to fire defensive coordinator Tim Banks and replace him with Jim Knowles takes the biggest staff change headlines for Tennessee football this offseason, there are still other moving parts. On Friday morning, Matt Zenitz reported that director of player personnel Jake Breske is leaving for Missouri, where he will be in a ‘lead front office capacity’.
Breske holds nearly a decade of SEC experience and has been on Heupel’s staff since he got to Tennessee in 2021. This will be a return to Missouri for him, as well, as he worked alongside Heupel when he was the offensive coordinator for the Tigers from 2016-17. Breske spent five total years on Missouri’s staff, including as director of recruiting for the Tigers from 2018-21.
While a lot goes into landing top recruiting classes and securing transfers, Breske has been a big piece of the puzzle for Tennessee under Heupel. This past 2026 cycle, the Vols inked 27 recruits for a class that ranked as the No. 5 group in the country on 247.
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Replacing Breske, according to Zenitz, will be Ryan Smith. While Zenitz didn’t say that he will be in the same director role that Breske held, he did note that it will be in a player personnel position.
This past season, Smith held responsibilities as the assistant general manager of player personnel under Hugh Freeze. With the coaching change to Alex Golesh, a former Heupel offensive coordinator at Tennessee, Smith is now on the move.
Smith also holds experience as the general manager at Georgia Southern.
Currently, Tennessee is preparing for the Music City Bowl. The Vols will face off with Illinois on Dec. 30 in Nashville at Nissan Stadium. Just a couple of days later, on Jan. 2, the transfer portal will officially open up.
One Response
Use the Quarterbacks we have. Why chase the talent if your not going to use it. Worthless recruiting, time and money spent.