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Josh Heupel adds offensive analyst Matt Merritt to his Tennessee coaching staff
Just over a month after landing an assistant coaching role at UCF, Matt Merritt has packed his bags and is headed to Rocky Top to reconnect with Josh Heupel.
Merritt was scheduled to be the new running backs coach for UCF but after Heupel left the Knights for Tennessee, that position was no longer on the table for the former running backs coach at James Madison University.
While he would have been a full-time assistant on Heupel’s UCF staff, Merritt has agreed to become an offensive analyst at Tennessee heading into the 2021 season. This news was first reported by John Brice of FootballScoop.
James Madison did not play fall football in 2020 — FCS programs held off their football season until the spring — but during his previous season with the program (in 2019), the Dukes rushed for 3,886 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns.
Before coaching running backs at James Madison, Merritt served in the same role at Elon University. Prior to landing that job, he served as an assistant running backs coach under Urban Meyer at Ohio State from 2013-2015.
During his time in Columbus, Merritt coached Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde and was a member of the coaching staff that led Ohio State to the 2014 national championship.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com