Notre Dame has added a new member to its football staff, with J.R. Sandlin joining the administrative side of the program. Sandlin will help the Irish’s recruiting efforts as well as handle other behind the scenes duties for the program.
The move comes after head coach Brian Kelly lost one of his key behind-the-scenes staffers earlier this year when director of football personnel Tim McDonnell took a scouting position with the New York Giants.
Sandlin won’t be filling McDonnell’s role directly, but is more than capable of playing a role in the Irish recruiting efforts. He spent part of last year working as Tennessee’s director of recruiting, but left the program in April.
“J.R. has moved on and is no longer part of the program,” Jones told the Knoxville News Sentinel in April.
Tennessee’s loss seems to be the Irish’s gain, and Sandlin will bring with him the experience of being part of Alabama’s recruiting machine, where he spent three years managing the day to day operations of the Tide’s recruiting efforts.
Before that, Sandlin spent two years working as a recruiting specialist for UCF, where he played tight end for George O’Leary at Central Florida.