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Tennessee Set To Hire Defensive Assistant From Penn State Per Report

Bonisiwe Shabane
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tennessee set to hire defensive assistant from penn state per report

This article/post contains references to products or services from one or more of our advertisers or partners. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products or services. Tennessee is making another change to its coaching staff for the 2026 season with the hiring of Penn State’s Andrew Jackson for a role working with the Volunteers’ front seven. The Vols’ latest new hire was reported by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz on Thursday afternoon. Jackson’s hire would continue Tennessee‘s push to put this season’s disappointing 8-5 campaign behind it. That 5th and final loss came on Tuesday night in the Music City Bowl, with the Volunteers falling to Illinois on a last-second field goal to put the finishing touches on a season that...

The urgency to turn it around in 2026 is showing quickly. Tennessee has hired a new defensive coordinator in veteran Jim Knowles, who won a national championship as Ohio State’s DC in 2024 before spending the 2025 season in the same role at Penn State. Speaking of Happy Valley, that’s where Jackson is arriving in Knoxville from, so his reported hire would reunite Jackson with Knowles for this coming season. Tennessee is expected to hire Penn State’s Andrew Jackson in a front seven coaching role, sources tell @CBSSports.Was defensive line coach at West Virginia from 2021-24. Helped WVU rank among the Big 12’s best in categories like run defense, sacks and tackles for loss… pic.twitter.com/lB0bli011q Penn State assistant Anthony Poindexter is leaving the Nittany Lions’ program for a position on the Tennessee staff, per a report by Volquest, an On3 site.

Poindexter, a highly regarded safeties coach and a recruiter, spent five seasons at Penn State. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is the Volunteers’ new DC. The safety position had become a team strength since Poindexter arrived. Poindexter also served as Penn State’s defensive play-caller in the Lions’ Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson at Yankee Stadium. The list of safeties that Poindexter has coached and developed include Jaquan Brisker, Ji’Ayir Brown, Kevin Winston Jr., Jaylen Reed and 2025 veteran Zakee Wheatley. Tennessee football will to hire Penn State assistant coach Anthony Poindexter on Jim Knowles' defensive staff, Knox News confirmed.

Tennessee has not announced Poindexter's hiring. It usually does that only after a contract or memorandum of understanding is signed. Poindexer would join Ohio State assistant Michael Hunter and Penn State assistant Andrew Jackson as the new additions to UT's defensive staff. Poindexter spent the past five seasons as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State, where he worked alongside Knowles in the 2025 season. In December, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel hired Knowles to replace fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks. Now Knowles is retooling the defensive coaching staff, and Poindexter is a key addition.

Tennessee football is expected to hire Penn State assistant coach Andrew Jackson on Jim Knowles' defensive staff, CBS Sports reported on Jan. 1. Tennessee has not announced Jackson's hiring. It usually does that only after a contract or memorandum of understanding is signed. Jackson's position is unknown, but his background suggests it will be in the defensive front seven. In 2025, Jackson served as a defensive analyst and assistant defensive line coach at Penn State, where he worked under Knowles.

Jackson was the defensive line coach at Fordham (2017), Old Dominion (2020) and West Virginia (2021-24). He was a defensive quality control coach at Mississippi State (2018) and defensive tackles coach at James Madison (2019). And he was also a Penn State defensive line graduate assistant (2015-16). PennLive and The Patriot-News are Pennsylvania's sources for breaking news, sports, entertainment, weather and more. http://www.pennlive.com WRIC 8 News reported that a beloved and influential Richmond pastor passed away on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, after more than four decades of serving the community.

Rev. Dr. A. Lincoln James, Jr., was the beloved pastor of Richmond’s Trinity Baptist Church for 45 years, according to a December 18 Facebook post from the church. Having served the same community for so long, James was well known, and many people benefited from his leadership. Get ready to meet a tiny little puppy who reportedly charms everyone around him, and is hoping to charm his way into a forever home.

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But we forget the first bird Noah sent out: The Raven. The Bible says the Raven "flew back and forth until the water was dried up." Why didn't it come back to the Ark like the dove? A local and dedicated foster-based dog rescue in Massachusetts, Great Dog Rescue New England (GDRNE), would like you to meet Cornflake Casserole tiny puppy who recently came into their care. According to the rescue, “His mom gave birth in our shelter after being rescued from an abusive backyard breeder in Tennessee, but we're happy to report he and his siblings are thriving! Next stop? Your home!” Cornflake is currently living with his littermates in a loving foster home.

Our Friday and Sunday email of news and alerts for Penn State football. The Penn State defensive line lines up during the Penn State Homecoming football game against Northwestern in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 in University Park, Pa. The Wildcats beat the Nittany Lions 22-21. A Penn State assistant is headed elsewhere. Assistant defensive line coach Andrew Jackson is reportedly leaving Happy Valley for Tennessee, per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.

He will work with the "front seven." Tennessee is expected to hire Penn State’s Andrew Jackson in a front seven coaching role, sources tell @CBSSports.Was defensive line coach at West Virginia from 2021-24. Helped WVU rank among the Big 12’s best in categories like run defense, sacks and tackles for loss… pic.twitter.com/lB0bli011q Tennessee’s football team's defensive reset is officially underway after a frustrating 2025 campaign that ended with an ugly home loss to Vanderbilt and renewed questions about whether the Volunteers can actually break through in... Tim Banks, a Broyles Award finalist just a year ago, is out as defensive coordinator after a season in which Tennessee repeatedly gave up explosive scoring totals and squandered momentum in Neyland Stadium, forcing... According to On3’s Chris Low, Tennessee is expected to hire Jim Knowles as its next defensive coordinator, with Knoxville widely viewed as his landing spot once he finishes working through a buyout from his...

Low reports that Knowles is lined up to take over the Vols’ defense once he officially hits the market, giving Heupel a veteran play-caller with experience coordinating units at both Penn State and Ohio... The move signals a clear acknowledgment from Tennessee that last year’s defensive backslide was not acceptable for a program that wants to be more than just “solid” in the SEC. Tennessee announced the hiring of three defensive assistant coaches on Friday. Anthony Poindexter will serve as the Vols' co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach. He served as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State from 2021-25. Andrew Jackson will serve as a LEO coach for the Vols.

He was an assistant defensive line coach for the Nittany Lions. Michael Hunter Jr. was also announced as Tennessee's cornerbacks coach. He was an assistant defensive backs coach at Ohio State from 2024-25. Tennessee hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles following the 2025 regular season. He was Penn State's defensive coordinator in 2025 after serving in the same capacity at Ohio State from 2022-24.

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