Adkins named offensive line coach at Syracuse

Tennessee offensive line coach Greg Adkins has been hired to the Syracuse staff by head coach Doug Marrone.

Adkins had been on the UT staff since 2003, serving first as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator then in 2006 being promoted to offensive line coach.

Adkins will be offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Syracuse.

“Greg has been a part of a lot of great programs and he has won championships,” Marrone said. “He has recruited the type of players we are going to need to have success on the field in the future. Greg brings a wealth of experience in the offensive line position. I think offensive line is the second most important position beside the offensive coordinator. Greg is someone we are going to use in recruiting nationally. He has had great success recruiting. We never want to limit ourselves to the areas that are going to be our foundation. We also want to be sure to recruit great players around the country.”

Adkins has been ranked among the top 10 recruiters nationally.

“In recruiting, the bottom line is that we will be looking for the best players out there,” Adkins said in a statement. “Certainly we want to start as close as we can to the proximity of Syracuse University and then we will expand out from there. No matter where we have to go, we will do that to meet our needs for this first recruiting class and recruiting classes in the future.”

In 2007, Adkins’ line allowed four sacks, the fewest in the country.

Adkins came to the Vols in 2003 from Troy, where he was responsible for the offensive line while helping the Trojans make the transition from Division I-AA.

Before coaching at Troy, Adkins spent five years as an assistant at Georgia under Jim Donnan. He coached the Bulldogs’ defensive line in 1996 and mentored the tight ends and the offensive line 1997-2000. During his tenure in Athens, the Bulldogs posted a 40-19 record in five seasons and played in four bowl games.

Adkins was among four coaches on offense who new UT coach Lane Kiffin had kept on the staff and given a shot at keeping their jobs, Kiffin said. The defensive staff was let go.

Kiffin had recently hired offensive line coach James Cregg from the Oakland Raiders, but had not as yet assigned Cregg a position.