KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt announced the promotion of Joe Osovet to tight ends coach on Wednesday. Osovet, a former junior college head coach, joined the Volunteers staff in an off-the-field role as a director of player development in 2018 before being named the director of football programming in 2019.

“I’m excited to announce Joe Osovet as our new tight ends coach,” Pruitt said. “Joe’s track record as an outstanding college coach and a top offensive mind speaks for itself. He’s been successful at every stop he has been, and he’s done a tremendous job behind the scenes here at Tennessee over the last two years. He’s ready to be an on-field coach and eager to get to work. He’s an excellent relationship builder and I believe he will do a great job in our tight end room.”

Pruitt also announced that Brian Niedermeyer will move to the defensive side of the ball. The position he will coach will be announced at a later time. Niedermeyer has coached tight ends the past two seasons and was named the National Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports and ESPN in 2019. He previously was a defensive graduate assistant working with linebackers under Pruitt at Georgia and Alabama, and worked on defense at Miami (Fla.) in 2013.

“When I first got hired at Tennessee I knew Brian was a guy that was going to be a coach on my first staff,” Pruitt said. “I didn’t know what position he was going to coach, but I knew he was a rising star in the profession and a guy that knows ball. Like a lot of the guys on our staff, Brian could coach any position – offense or defense. He started out working with linebackers for me as a graduate assistant at Georgia and did the same for me at Alabama. He’s a great motivator and a very detail-oriented, fundamental coach.”

Osovet Moves to Tight Ends in Year 3 with the Vols
Osovet worked closely behind the scenes with Tennessee’s offense during the past two seasons as the Vols’ made dramatic improvements across the board, including in total offense where the Vols averaged over 70 yards more per game in 2019 compared to 2017 – the year before he arrived.

He came to Rocky Top after a successful tenure as one of the nation’s top junior college head coaches. Osovet coached 11 NFL players and developed 47 NCAA Division I players as a JUCO head coach at ASA (N.Y.) College and Nassau (N.Y.) Community College, finishing with a combined record of 33-11 with two Northeast Football Conference Coach of the Year awards (2014 and 2017) and the 2014 USA Sports Writer JUCO Coach of the Year honor.

At ASA College (2016-17), Osovet directed an offense that averaged 41.9 points per game, including a stretch during the final two games of the 2016 season where the Avengers averaged 75.0.

Prior to his time at ASA College, Osovet was the head coach and offensive coordinator at Nassau Community College. He was named interim head coach for the final three games of the 2013 season before serving as head coach in 2014 and 2015. In his first full season, Osovet directed Nassau to a 10-0 mark in 2014, earning conference and national coach of the year honors. He guided the Lions to a 6-3 record in 2015 before taking the reins at ASA.

Osovet played one season at Northeastern (1993) after graduating from Nassau Community College. He is married to Sandra and the couple has two children: son, Austin, and daughter, Brooke Marie.

Niedermeyer Moves Back to Defense
Niedermeyer has solidified himself as a valuable member of the Tennessee coaching staff over the past two seasons as the tight ends coach. He will move to the defensive side of the ball in a coaching position still to be determined.

A relentless recruiter and one of the coaching profession’s up-and-coming stars, Niedermeyer is also an accomplished fundamental coach on both sides of the ball. After playing tight end at Arkansas at Pine Bluff, he coached at his alma mater before taking on a role as a volunteer analyst working with linebackers at Miami (Fla.) in 2013. The Hurricanes finished 9-4 that season and were led by honorable mention All-America linebacker Denzel Perryman, who had 108 tackles.

Niedermeyer served as the wide receivers coach at East Texas Baptist University in 2014, helping guide the nation’s No. 1 passing offense (368.1 ypg) in NCAA Division III, before entering the Southeastern Conference.

He was a graduate assistant under Pruitt at Georgia in 2015 and Alabama in 2016, specializing in coaching linebackers at both stops. He helped coach Butkus Award winner Reuben Foster as well as All-SEC honoree Tim Williams at Alabama. At Georgia, he worked with All-SEC linebacker Leonard Floyd, who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He worked with six linebackers who would play in the NFL during his two years as a GA with the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs.

Niedermeyer worked as the assistant director of recruiting operations at Alabama in 2017 before coming to Tennessee as the tight ends coach in 2018.

Overall, Niedermeyer has helped developed 18 NFL Draft picks.

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