Former Penn State TE Adam Breneman placed on administrative leave for recruiting violation at Arizona State
Before the college football world got swooped up in conference realignment madness, one of the more important offseason storylines was taking place in the Pac-12 with Arizona State coming under fire for alleged recruiting violations. Now, one of the assistant coaches with a Penn State connection has been placed on administrative leave as an NCAA investigation continues to dig into the situation.
Adam Breneman, who played tight end for Penn State, was reportedly been placed on administrative leave by Arizona State on July 16. According to a report from Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Breneman is one of 10 members of the Arizona State football staff mentioned in a dossier of documents outlining potential recruiting violations.
Arizona State came under fire for alleged recruiting violations going against NCAA-mandated protocols during an extended dead period for recruiting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is alleged Arizona State continued to host recruits on campus for recruiting visits at a time when no school in the country was supposed to be having in-person recruiting of any kind.
Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Adam Breneman (81) scores a touchdown against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Breneman appears to be one of the coaches who was most out of line with the NCAA recruiting guidelines. Breneman allegedly paid close to $600 for a recruit to visit Arizona State’s campus from Philadelphia. At the time, Brneenman was a graduate assistant with the Sun Devils program. Head coach Herm Edwards promoted Breneman to the role of tight ends coach in January 2021.
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 at the time 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.
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