Tennessee football to hire Ohio State assistant Michael Hunter, per report
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Tennessee football is expected to hire Ohio State assistant coach Michael Hunter Jr. on Jim Knowles‘ defensive staff, CBS Sports reported on Jan. 1.
Hunter is expected to help coach defensive backs in some capacity after Tennessee coach Josh Heupel fired defensive secondary coach Willie Martinez. Hunter joins Penn State assistant Andrew Jackson, who is reportedly expected to coach in the front seven of the UT defense.
Tennessee has not announced Hunter’s hiring. It usually does that only after a contract or memorandum of understanding is signed.
Hunter spent the past two seasons as an Ohio State assistant defensive backs coach. In 2023, he was Tulsa’s defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach. In 2021-22, he was Oklahoma State’s assistant defensive secondary coach.
Hunter is familiar with Knowles’ defensive scheme. He worked under him at Oklahoma State and Ohio State, including the Buckeyes‘ 2024 national team that featured the nation’s best defense.
As a player, Hunter was a standout cornerback at Indiana and Oklahoma State. He was on six NFL rosters from 2016-19, including the New York Giants, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.
Hunter would be among numerous additions to Knowles’ defensive staff. In December, Heupel hired Knowles to replace fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Michael Hunter: Tennessee football to hire Ohio State assistant, per report
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