Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt was introduced during a timeout at the Vols basketball game on Saturday Mike Wilson/News Sentinel
Tennessee native Austin Thomas is returning to his roots.
Thomas will join Jeremy Pruitt's football staff at Tennessee after five seasons working at LSU in a role specialized to recruiting, LSU confirmed Thursday.
Tennessee has not announced any of Pruitt's staff hires, and it's unclear what Thomas' title will be at UT.
Last fall, LSU coach Ed Orgeron gave Thomas the title of general manager. Previously at LSU, he was the director of player personnel and an assistant athletic director.
Footballscoop.com named Thomas its 2015 player personnel director of the year.
Thomas, who is from Franklin, graduated from Lipscomb before getting a master's degree in sport management from Tennessee.
He got his start in college athletics at UT, serving as a recruiting intern in 2008 before serving as a defensive analyst for the 2009 season.
Thomas also has worked on staffs at Southern California and Bowling Green.
Thomas served as an active recruiter for LSU for the past year, taking defensive line coach Pete Jenkins' spot on the road. He's also been a liaison for LSU players looking to continue their careers in the NFL.
The Baton Rouge Advocate reported that Thomas' duties at LSU included overseeing a staff of students and interns that mined the country for prospective talent and compiled recruiting databases for LSU's use.
Keaton Jones, whose bullying video has gone viral, visited with UT Athletics Director Phil Fulmer and members of the Vols football team on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. Submitted/ University of Tennessee.
Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt was introduced during a timeout at the Vols basketball game on Saturday Mike Wilson/News Sentinel
Watch a time lapse of University of Tennessee sophomore Kate Luffman painting The Rock to welcome UT Vols new coach Jeremy Pruitt. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel
University of Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt speaks about who he sees as the Vols' opponents during his introduction ceremony in the Neyland Stadium Peyton Manning Locker Room Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.
The Tennessee coaching search has gone through a tumultuous week. Angela Gosnell/News Sentinel
Tennessee has named former head football coach Phil Fulmer as the athletics director. Wochit
John Currie is out as the Tennessee athletic director after eight months on the job and one chaotic week of a football coaching search, according to media reports. Angela Gosnell/News Sentinel
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More than 100 people gathered outside Neyland Stadium on Nov. 26, then marched on Anderson Training Center to express outrage after reports surfaced that Tennessee is finalizing a deal to hire Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano. Calvin Mattheis
Jauan Jennings on Sunday drove by a crowd who, minutes earlier, had chanted "Free Jauan." The UT Vols released Jennings after he posted a profanity-laced rant to Instagram. He has since apologized. Submitted / Twitter user @witness781
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