Danielle Braswell and Tim Owens have joined Mark Stoops’ staff as executive director of recruiting and director of player development, respectively
LEXINGTON – July 7, 2022
University of Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops has announced the addition of two new staffers prior to the start of the 2022 season. Danielle Braswell has been named the executive director of football recruiting, while Tim Owens joins the program as the director of player development. He replaces Courtney Love, who has moved back into a graduate assistant coaching position.
Braswell brings nearly a decade of Southeastern Conference experience to Kentucky, where she will oversee football recruiting.
“We are thrilled to have Danielle join our program,” Stoops said. “She brings new energy, organization and a lot of creativity to our team. She helps us raise the bar in how we recruit and showcase what we have to offer a prospective student-athlete. In the short time she’s been here, she’s already made a positive impression.”
Braswell arrived in Lexington during the spring after spending four years as the director of on-campus football recruiting at Texas A&M. She was integral in helping the Aggies land the No. 1 recruiting class of all-time, according to 247Sports, for the Class of 2022. She was responsible for planning and executing all aspects of official and unofficial visits and she took the lead on coordinating related events such as all gameday recruiting efforts and Junior Day. She also handled compliance paperwork and regularly assisted with operational duties.
“I am honored and excited to join Coach Stoops and his staff here in Lexington and help them continue to build on their success,” Braswell said.
Prior to her time with the Aggies, Braswell served as a football recruiting operations coordinator at Arkansas from 2016-18. Her responsibilities included organizing all logistics for prospective student-athletes and their guests on official and unofficial visits.
Before that, she launched her career as a recruiting operations assistant, before being promoted to an athletics recruiters advisor, at Auburn from 2012-15.
The Wetumpka, Alabama native graduated from Auburn in 2015, earning a degree in kinesiology, fitness, conditioning and performance.
Owens comes to Kentucky after spending the last four years in player development in the National Football League. In his role with the Wildcats, he will have similar responsibilities as he will help prepare student-athletes for personal, academic and athletic development success through UK’s “4 for 40” program and he will work with special assistant to the head coach Eddie Gran with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) and player branding as well as community service opportunities.
“Tim is a perfect fit for this position,” Stoops said. “I was really impressed with his military and NFL background, his organizational skills and just how humble and relatable he is with people. His experience speaks for itself and he will be a great asset to our program.”
From 2019-21, Owens was the player engagement and youth football manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he helped coordinate all team life skills programming as well as the Jaguars Rookie Club and NFL Rookie Success Program. Additionally, Owens worked closely with players on continuing education, career internships, professional development, employee assistance and financial education.
“I’m very grateful to Coach Stoops and his staff for this opportunity,” Owens said. “When I was in the NFL, I heard that Coach Stoops led a player-centric program and I really liked that about him. I’m going to be very similar in my approach and I’m going to lead with love and accountability while being firm, fair and consistent. I’m excited to be a part of the Big Blue Nation and I can’t wait to get started.”
Prior to joining the Jaguars, Owens spent five years with the Naval Academy Football Program, where he assisted Midshipmen in the art of leadership and achieving excellence in their moral, mental and physical development. While at the Naval Academy, he served as a liaison between the football student-athletes, internal/external departments, and agencies related to player development. He also transitioned student-athletes into the military way of life with appropriate departments while identifying and monitoring at-risk student-athletes.
As a retired United States Marine, Owens has an extensive military background which includes stints as a Foreign Security Forces Advisor for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Supply and Logistician, a Drill Instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Company Gunnery Sergeant, Leadership Academy Instructor, Combat Conditioning Instructor, Martial Arts Instructor, and combat deployments.
The Greenville, South Carolina native, 42, earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management in 2015 and a master’s degree in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2017.
He is married to the former Erin Adams of Burbank, California and they have one daughter, Elon.
Some of Owens’ personal military decorations include Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism, and the Good Conduct Medal.
