Brian Bennett is in his second year as the director of player personnel, overseeing all recruiting operations. He oversees multiple recruiting coordinators, maintains recruiting databases and calendars in addition to managing the organizational aspects of recruiting. He manages all recruiting evaluations and is the liaison to WVU coach Neal Brown on all recruiting issues.
Bennett organizes recruiting areas and makes staff assignments, oversees recruiting meetings, correspondence and official and unofficial visits. He maintains the status of scholarship offers, recruiting targets, commitments and updates the staff on recruiting issues. As a liaison with the University admissions office, he works with prospects and high schools to facilitate the admissions process.
He came to West Virginia with Brown after serving as the director of player personnel at Troy from 2015-18. At Troy, Bennett was the director of player personnel for four years under Brown. The Trojans’ recruiting classes were the best in program history. Every class was ranked among the top in the Sun Belt Conference rankings by different publications. Rivals ranked the 2017 class as the best by average signee rating in the Sun Belt.
Bennett joined the Troy staff following one season as a defensive quality control coach at Texas. He worked with the Longhorn defensive line and helped with the coaching staff’s transition from Louisville to Texas.
He spent the previous four seasons at Louisville as a graduate assistant (three years) and student assistant coach on the defensive side of the football for coach Charlie Strong. The Cardinals posted a combined 23-3 record over his final two seasons with victories in the 2012 Sugar Bowl and 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl.
Bennett first joined Strong as a student assistant coach at Florida in 2009 after two years as a student assistant coach at Birmingham Southern. He moved into the coaching ranks after an injury ended his playing career during his freshman season at Birmingham Southern.
The Mobile, Alabama, native had an impressive string of six straight bowl appearances (2009-14) on his resume as a quality control specialist, graduate assistant or student assistant coach.
Bennett earned his bachelor of science degree in psychology from Louisville in 2011 and his master of science degree in sports administration from Louisville in 2013.
