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Adam Breneman promoted to ASU’s tight ends coach

(Adam Breneman Twitter photo)
(Adam Breneman Twitter photo)

The writing has been on the wall for a while, and even though an official announcement is still forthcoming, Devils Digest has learned a few days ago that ASU graduate assistant Adam Breneman has been promoted to Arizona State’s tight ends coach, replacing Derek Hagan, who was not retained by the program.

It has been a meteoric rise for Breneman, who was hired as a graduate assistant a mere 11 months ago by the Sun Devils. He was a high school football All-American in 2013 at Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill (PA). He was the No. 2 tight end in the nation, a four-star recruit, and an Under Armor All-American. After playing his first two years at Penn State, he transferred to the University of Massachusetts, where he went on to become a consensus two-time All-American on his way to becoming the program’s all-time leader in receiving by a tight end (149 receptions, 1,758 yards, and 15 TDs). Breneman was a two-time John Mackey Award Semi-Finalist and was nominated for the 2017 Jason Witten Man of the Year Award.

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Breneman’s extensive tight end experience as a player served him well in coaching the position in Tempe, and has certainly caught the eye of head coach Herm Edwards and his offensive staff. Nonetheless, Breneman was able to complement his technical expertise with an incredible recruiting prowess. Incoming freshmen offensive linemen Isaia Glass, Ezra Dotson-Oyetade, and Austin Barry are just a few of the 2021 class signees that have cited their relationship with Breneman as being a significant factor in their decision to pledge to ASU and ultimately sign with the team.


“Me and coach Breneman…he’s definitely my guy,” Glass said in a recent interview with Devils Digest. “I think that ASU has definitely using him to spark recruiting. He’s young. He played tight end, and he’s still fresh. He can really connect and relate to the players, and overall, Breneman is a cool dude and cool coach.”


Being removed only a few years from the game has greatly aided Breneman in also attracting transfers to ASU in recent weeks. Oklahoma tight end Jalin Conyers as well as North Carolina offensive lineman Triston Miller did mention how easy it was to relate to Breneman on a personal and professional level.


“I related a lot to coach Breneman because he knew what I was going through,” Conyers stated in discussing his transfer with Devils Digest. “He helped me a lot through the process, and being a young guy, I know he can relate to his players because he went throw the same things. He played tight end at Penn State, and when he transferred (to UMass), he became a two-time All-American.”


ASU’s next order of business regarding its staff is seemingly replacing offensive line coach Dave Christensen who announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago. The Sun Devils can also find themselves in search of a linebackers’ coach if co-defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis lands an NFL head coaching job which would prompt the promotion of Antonio Pierce to from co-defensive coordinator and linebackers’ coach to being the sole defensive coordinator of the team.


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