Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee program potentially landed another win on Friday as the SEC has decided to change its graduate transfer policy.

Graduate transfers will now be able to transfer within the conference and be eligible immediately without having to sit out a season.

Under the previous rule, graduate transfers that desired to transfer from one SEC school to another had to sit out a year, unless given an exemption by the SEC. This was a rule unique to the SEC, as graduate transfers have the right to play immediately across the nation.

This issue was one of the bigger topics heading into the 2018 edition of the SEC’s Spring Meetings in Destin, as Nick Saban was reportedly blocking graduate transfer offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy from transferring to Tennessee. Auburn is another school that Kennedy is reportedly interested in.

During his media availability at the Spring Meetings, Saban took issue with the narrative that he was blocking any Alabama graduate transfers from going to SEC schools. He even mentioned Kennedy specifically during his segment with the media. Saban noted that it was an SEC rule that he was simply complying with, although several SEC programs in recent seasons have permitted graduate transfers to leave for other SEC programs without issue.

“Then we should change the rule. I don’t think it should be on me, I think we should change the rule,” Saban said earlier in the week when asked about blocking grad transfers from SEC programs. “If we agree in the SEC at these meetings that we are going to have free agency in our league and everybody can go wherever they want to go when they graduate, if that’s what’s best for the game — then I think that’s what we should do. Then Brandon Kennedy can go wherever he wants to go.

“But if we don’t do that, why is it on me? Because we have a conference rule that says he can’t do it. And he can do it, but he’s supposed to sit out a year. So why is it on me? It’s not even my decision, it’s a conference rule. I always give people releases — and he has a release to go wherever he wants to go, but the conference rule says he can’t go to the conference. So… why is that on me?

“The Maurice Smith thing wasn’t on me either.”