Adam Alexander Breneman (born March 31, 1995) is an American football media personality, former coach, and player. Most recently, he was the tight ends coach for Arizona State where he was the youngest assistant coach among the power five conferences in college football. Breneman played as a tight end, finishing his playing career as an All-American at UMass after transferring from Penn State. He was a highly touted recruit out of Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, rated as the top tight end in his recruiting class by some recruiting services.[1]
As a true freshman in 2013, Breneman had a breakout season and was named as a 247Sports.com True Freshman All-American. After redshirting due to an injury, Breneman battled injuries in 2015 and appeared in just two games. He officially left Penn State in December 2015 after completing his degree and started working for a media consulting company in Pennsylvania.
In the summer of 2016, after five months away from football, Breneman transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for his final two years of eligibility. A major factor for his un-retirement was a trusted friend and ally to the injured, Andrew Ford - his former high school quarterback. Breneman later credited Ford with "changing his life" and "being a light when there was nothing but darkness" in a 2021 interview with Sports Illustrated. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Breneman led the country in receiving by a tight end and was named an All-American. In March 2018, he announced his retirement from football due to the knee injury he had first suffered at Penn State.
After his retirement from playing, Breneman worked as a media consultant in Pennsylvania and as a college football commentator and podcast host. In 2020, Breneman got into coaching and was hired by Herm Edwards as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University. In January 2021, just ten months after joining the Arizona State staff, he was promoted to tight ends coach. 247Sports named Adam to their annual "College football's rising stars: The 30Under30 for 2020" list which recognizes the top young coaches in football. Breneman was placed on administrative leave in July 2021, pending the NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations. In January 2022, Breneman resigned from his position as tight ends coach for Arizona State Football, according to a report from 247Sports.
High school career
Breneman attended Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. At Cedar Cliff, he was ranked as the best tight end recruit in the country by ESPN and was rated a five-star recruit by Scout.com.[2] He received scholarship offers from more than 30 schools before committing to play collegiately at Penn State University.[3]
Breneman’s younger brother, Grant, went on to become the quarterback for the Cedar Cliff Colts, starting as a sophomore in the 2014-2015 school year, until his graduation in 2017.
Breneman is the all-time leader in receiving by a tight end in Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association history. He is also the all-time leading receiver in Cedar Cliff history, holding the school records for career yards, receptions, and receiving touchdowns, as well as every single-season receiving record. In his three seasons of varsity football at Cedar Cliff, he totaled 144 receptions, 2,244 yards, and 23 touchdowns.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Breneman Tight end |
Mechanicsburg, PA | Cedar Cliff High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | 4.65 | Mar 9, 2012 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
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| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 2 (TE) Rivals: 3 (TE) 247Sports: 2 (TE) ESPN: 1 (TE) | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Penn State
2013 season
Breneman enrolled early at Penn State in the spring of 2013 after graduating high school a semester early. During his true freshman season, he appeared in 11 games, earning the starting tight end job for the second half of the season. Breneman finished the season with 15 receptions for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him 247Sports.com True Freshman All-America honors. His biggest game of the season came in the season finale at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he caught 3 passes for 78 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown in the first quarter. His 68-yard touchdown is the longest touchdown by a tight end in Penn State football history.[1]
2014 season
In August 2014, Penn State announced that Breneman would miss the season with a knee injury.[4]
2015 season
Prior to the 2015 season, Penn State strength and conditioning coach told the media that Breneman was in top shape following his knee injury. He stated that Breneman ran a 4.62 40-yard dash in July, which would have been one of the best times by a tight end at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine. However, Adam battled injuries throughout the 2015 season, appearing in only two games. Breneman played against Ohio State, and was the starting tight end against Michigan State.
Massachusetts
2016 season
During the summer of 2016, news broke that Breneman would graduate transfer to the University of Massachusetts. During the 2016 season, Breneman was the best-producing tight end in all of college football, leading the nation in receptions by a tight end. Breneman was named a John Mackey Award semi-finalist, the New England Player of the Year and a Campus Insiders All-American, among other awards. After contemplating declaring for the NFL Draft following his junior season, Breneman decided to stay in school for his final season.
2017 season
During the 2017 season, Breneman once again led the country in receptions by a tight end. Despite missing a game with a minor ankle injury, Breneman finished the year with 64 receptions, 764 yards, and 4 touchdowns. He was once again a John Mackey Award semi-finalist and a USA Today, Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus, and CBS Sports 2nd Team All-American. Following the season, he was considered one of the top tight ends in the 2018 NFL Draft.[5]
Breneman finished his college football career with 149 receptions, 1,758 yards, and 15 touchdowns. Despite just two seasons at the University of Massachusetts, he finished his career as the all-time leader in receiving by a tight end in school history. After his senior season ended, Breneman signed with Octagon Sports for his professional representation. His agent was Casey Muir.[6]
Retirement
On March 13, 2018, Breneman released a letter on the blog site Medium officially announcing his retirement from football due to a knee injury. In the letter, Breneman wrote: "After additional medical evaluations and creative treatments, my doctors and I have come to the realization that there is no solution that will allow me to continue to play football. It hurts me to share that at just 22 years old, I am officially retiring from the game of football. Football has given me so much in my life and I am very proud of all my accomplishments both on and off the field."
College statistics
| Season | GP | Receiving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Penn State Nittany Lions | |||||
| 2013 | 8 | 15 | 186 | 12.4 | 3 |
| 2014 | Did not play due to injury | ||||
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| UMass Minutemen | |||||
| 2016 | 12 | 70 | 808 | 11.5 | 8 |
| 2017 | 11 | 64 | 764 | 11.9 | 4 |
| Career | 33 | 149 | 1,758 | 11.8 | 15 |
Broadcasting career
Breneman launched a broadcasting and media career in 2018. Beginning in September of the same year, Breneman began hosting his own weekly Penn State Football show on Pennlive.com, the website for the popular newspaper The Patriot-News. On his show, Breneman and Patriot-News Penn State beat writer Bob Flounders analyze the Penn State football team. Breneman was the color commentator for the 2019 Big 33 Football Classic all-star game which aired on Stadium Network. He has also commentated on college football games produced by FloSports and ESPN+.
In July 2019, CBS Sports Radio announced that Adam will be hosting a sports talk show during the fall. The show features analysis on Penn State Football and air live on WHGB in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 2019, Adam launched a podcast titled "Next Up with Adam Breneman." On it, he interviews college and NFL football players about overcoming adversity and their careers. As of November 2023, the podcast has grown to have 27.7 thousand subscribers on YouTube.
Coaching career
Arizona State
In February 2020, 247Sports first reported that Breneman would be getting into the football coaching industry and joining Herm Edwards' coaching staff at Arizona State University.[7] He served as an offensive assistant at Arizona State for the 2020 season.[8] After one season, Breneman was promoted to the full-time staff as the tight ends coach.[9]
In 2020, 247Sports named Adam to their annual "College Football's Rising Stars: The 30Under30 for 2020" list which recognizes the top young coaches in football.
In July 2021, Breneman was placed on administrative leave along with three other assistant coaches based on allegations of recruiting violations. On January 27, 2022, he resigned from Arizona State to pursue other endeavors.[10]
Personal life and family
Breneman was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the oldest of three children from parents Brian and Sherri.[1] His father played football at Delaware Valley College, where he was an NCAA Division III All-American tight end.[11] Breneman's younger brother, Grant, plays quarterback at Colgate and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award in 2017.[12] His younger sister, Julia, was adopted from Guatemala and is currently on the field hockey team at Saint Francis University.
Philanthropy
During his senior year of high school, Breneman started Catch The Cure, a fundraiser to raise awareness and money to fight Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.[13] Catch The Cure raised over $200,000 for A.L.S. research, with all funds benefiting New York based research organization Project ALS[14]
Breneman served as the Vice President and a member of the board for the Penn State football chapter of Uplifting Athletes during his career at Penn State.[15]
In 2017, Breneman was named a finalist for the Jason Witten Man of the Year Award. This award is "presented annually to the Division I college football player who has demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field."[16]
In 2019, Breneman joined the board of directors of The Peyton Walker Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based organization which provides free heart screenings for youth in order to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.
Breneman also serves on the Board of Directors of Project ALS.
Post-football
After graduating from Penn State's Smeal College of Business in December 2015, Breneman was hired by Mike Regan to serve as his campaign manager for his 2016 Pennsylvania Senate run. In April 2016, Regan won the primary election for Pennsylvania Senate, District 31 with over 52% of the vote in a four-person race. After the victory, Regan offered Breneman the job of his chief of staff. Breneman briefly accepted, but then instead opted to return to football at the University of Massachusetts and pursue his MBA.[17]
Immediately following his retirement in 2018, Breneman took a job as a consultant with Harrisburg-based consulting firm Red Maverick Media. In late March 2018, Breneman became the campaign manager for John Joyce, who was elected to U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district.[18] Joyce won the 8-way primary and now serves in the United States Congress. After the win, Breneman returned to Red Maverick Media.
References
- ^ a b c "Adam Breneman – Penn State profile". Penn State Nittany Lions. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ Adam Breneman (January 7, 2013). "Adam Breneman - Football Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "Recruiting Football Team News, 247Sports". Recruiting.scout.com. April 13, 1970. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ McGuire, Kevin (August 12, 2014). "Report: Penn State's Adam Breneman facing surgery, redshirt – CollegeFootballTalk". Collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "2018 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
Ranked #6 TE, #151 overall
- ^ "Football Standout And NFL Prospect Adam Breneman Signs With Octagon, A Global Sports And Entertainment Agency - LM Gnazzo Promotion Strategies". Gnazzopromotions.com. December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "Breneman set to join Arizona State staff".
- ^ "College football's rising stars: The 30Under30 for 2020".
- ^ Booth, Trevor (January 10, 2021). "ASU promotes Breneman to TE coach". 247sports.com. 247Sports. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Cedar Cliff grad Adam Breneman resigns amid Arizona State Football recruiting investigation". January 28, 2022.
- ^ "NFF National Scholar-Athletes: Brian Breneman (1985)". National Football Foundation. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Grant Breneman – Colgate profile". Colgate Raiders. Colgate University. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Catch The Cure for ALS - Home". Catch-the-cure.com. August 19, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ Bachman, Brian (July 15, 2012). "Recruit Adam Breneman Joins Fight Against ALS". Onwardstate.com. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "PSU Chapter Leadership | Uplifting Athletes". Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- ^ "Breneman Among Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Semifinalists".
- ^ "How Adam Breneman Went from Retired PSU Savior to Politics to UMass All-American | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights". Bleacher Report. October 27, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "Dr. John Joyce announces hiring of former PSU standout Adam Breneman as campaign manager | WPMT FOX43". Fox43.com. April 9, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
External links
- ^ Sun Devil Source