The homecoming is now official.

Tennessee announced its hiring of Tee Martin on Sunday, introducing the former national championship quarterback during the Alabama-Tennessee basketball game.

“It’s the perfect time to come back home,” Martin said in a statement.

“With Coach (Phillip) Fulmer’s support, Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt is taking the Tennessee program in the right direction, and I’m excited to be a member of this outstanding coaching staff. I truly love this university and I bleed Orange and White.”

After piloting Tennessee to the 1998 National Championship, Martin spent several seasons playing professional football before kickstarting his coaching career. He’s worked at New Mexico (2009) and Kentucky (2010-11) before coaching at Southern Cal the last seven years. Martin was named the nation’s top recruiter in 2016 and was responsible for USC signing 5-stars like Adoree Jackson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Amon St. Brown.

"I’m excited to welcome back Tee Martin as one of our assistant coaches,” Pruitt said.

“He coordinated some of the nation’s top offenses at USC, and he develops and identifies players as well as any coach in the country. He’s an excellent recruiter, and he is terrific at building relationships with his players. He cares about developing young men on and off the field. Tee was the quarterback on one of the greatest teams in school history, winning a national championship. He knows what it take to win here, and I’m excited to have him on our staff.”

Martin’s role at Tennessee has yet to be announced, but the former signal caller will likely either coach quarterbacks or receivers. With Charles Kelly’s departure to Alabama, the Vols now have the requisite 10 on-field coaches, with responsibilities likely to be divvied up in the near future. Whatever Martin is asked to do, he’s simply thrilled to be back on Rocky Top.

“My time here was the greatest four years I could’ve ever imagined on and off the field,” he said.

“It’s my goal to help our Tennessee football student-athletes have the same experiences I had when I was a student here. It’s great to be home.”