Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt adds recruiting whiz Austin Thomas from LSU to staff

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.

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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.

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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.