Trey Johnson tabbed as new Director of Recruiting for Tennessee
Following the departure of Angelia Brummett earlier this month, Josh Heupel has tabbed Trey Johnson to be Tennessee’s new Director of Recruiting.
Johnson, a Tennessee graduate, had previously been serving as the Defensive Scouting Coordinator for the Vols since joining Heupel’s inaugural staff in 2021.
Johnson is a Chattanooga native and Boyd Buchanan School alumnus and has extensive ties to the University, as he graduated from Tennessee with a Master’s degree in Sports Administration in 2015. During his time as a student on Rocky Top, he worked with the Tennessee Fund and spent time as a recruiting analyst.
Following graduation, Johnson spent almost two years as a graduate assistant working in the recruiting department from 2015 to 2017 before leaving to take an opportunity as the Player Personnel Director and NFL Liaison for Liberty.
Following a successful stint at Liberty, which saw the Flames sign their highest-rated recruiting class in history at the time, Johnson continued to climb the ranks in the college football world. In 2018, he joined Clay Helton’s staff at USC. Johnson spent almost three years in Southern California working as the Director of Scouting and Recruiting Strategy before returning to Rocky Top.
During his final recruiting cycle at USC, Johnson helped the Trojans sign a top-ten class, as he was instrumental in their efforts in the scouting department and leading the charge on their social media platforms and team branding and strategy. Johnson also spent time overseeing all visits for the Trojans during his time in Southern California.
Johnson’s time in the defensive scouting department at Tennessee has also been highly successful. The Vols have been involved early, and usually first with multiple top defensive targets across the country, which has led to successful recruitments including James Pearce Jr., Jordan Ross, Rickey Gibson, Joshua Josephs, and Jeremiah Telander, among numerous others.
In his new role on Rocky Top, Johnson will oversee all on-campus recruiting, including the staff, while also coordinating official and unofficial visits, in addition to coordinating all of Tennessee’s recruiting logistics.
In-state Recruiting Big for the Vols in 2025
“State of Tennessee is going to be huge for us in this upcoming cycle,” Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel said during his National Signing Day press conference in December. “It always is, but next year’s a great year inside of this (state). You can already see that with some of the guys that we’ve evaluated. We got a great reception from the high school coaches across the state in the short amount of time that we’ve been here three years. Developed really good relationships, rapport, but, it’s a great year inside this state.”
