Bob Shoop will be Tennessee's new defensive coordinator, the program announced Saturday night.
Shoop spent the past two seasons at Penn State in a similar capacity. This year's club ranked 15th nationally in yards per play allowed, and the 2014 Nittany Lions placed third. Penn State's rank in the year prior to Shoop's arrival? 42nd.
"I would like to thank Mr. Hart and Coach Jones for giving me this opportunity," Shoop said in a statement. "I also want to thank Coach Franklin, the Penn State players and coaches and the Penn State community for an incredible two seasons. This was not an easy decision and one that I didn't take lightly. Over the last 24 hours I had an opportunity to meet with Coach Jones and his staff. It became evident to me that he is building a great program, a program on the rise and certainly one that will compete for an SEC Championship. I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the team." Prior to Penn State, Shoop played a vital role in James Franklin's reclamation project at Vanderbilt. In fact, Shoop helped secure Vanderbilt's first back-to-back victories (2012-13) over the Vols since 1925-26. He'll inherit a unit ripe with talent that will be widely expected to reach the program's first SEC title game since 2007.
"We are very excited about the addition of Bob Shoop to our coaching staff," Butch Jones added. "Bob has established himself as one of the premier coordinators in all of college football and is very well-respected as a recruiter, football coach and person. He brings a wealth of experience at the highest level and possesses all the qualities we were looking for as we went through this process. He has directed units that have finished in the Top 25 nationally in each of the last five years and he will do a great job of developing our players on the defensive side of the ball."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.