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Tennessee football hires former Vols standout, Knoxville-area coach Robert Ayers Jr.

toyloy brown iii, knoxville news sentinel
·1 min read

Tennessee football has added Robert Ayers Jr. to Josh Heupel's staff as a defensive graduate assistant.

Tennessee is Ayers' alma mater, and he is back after starting his coaching career in the Knoxville area. He served as the defensive line coach (2020) and defensive coordinator (2021) at Knoxville Catholic High School before becoming the defensive coordinator at Oak Ridge for the 2022 season. He earned the 2022 Tennessee Class 5A Region 3 Assistant Coach of the Year.

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Ayers played for the Volunteers from 2005-08, compiling 113 total tackles with 31.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks and an interception. He also was a part of Tennessee’s 10-win season under Phillip Fulmer in 2007, the program's last until 2022.

He was a first-round pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2009 NFL Draft and played nine seasons across three teams.

Robert Ayers, shown while playing for the Denver Broncos in 2011, has been hired as a defensive graduate assistant at Tennessee, his alma mater. Ayers has spent the past three seasons coaching at the high school level at Knoxville Catholic and Oak Ridge
Robert Ayers, shown while playing for the Denver Broncos in 2011, has been hired as a defensive graduate assistant at Tennessee, his alma mater. Ayers has spent the past three seasons coaching at the high school level at Knoxville Catholic and Oak Ridge

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Robert Ayers Jr: Tennessee football star added to Josh Heupel staff