In an offseason of heavy personnel maneuvering, arguably the biggest addition Jeremy Pruitt managed to land for his first Tennessee roster was a player he was well familiar with — former Alabama offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy.

Considering Kennedy’s experience in Tuscaloosa, the maturity and discipline he’s shown by getting his undergraduate degree in only three years at Alabama and the fact that Tennessee’s offensive line looked to be the team’s biggest question mark entering the offseason, the offensive lineman is poised to quickly become one of the faces of Pruitt’s first Volunteer team.

That’s something Pruitt even acknowledged during his Thursday media availability.

“Brandon is a really good competitor. He strains, knows how to strain and he knows how to do it every play,” the Tennessee coach said. “A guy like him, I think he’s earned the respect of his teammates by the way he practices every day. I think everyone in our program is excited to have him here.”

Following those praising comments, Pruitt allowed Kennedy to meet with the local media to discuss fall camp. It didn’t take long before Kennedy was asked about what drew him to Knoxville.

“Well, the first thing was I was looking for my degree. Like I said, sports psychology is a big thing for me, that was the main thing that brought me here,” Kennedy answered.

The offensive lineman was then asked his opinion on the biggest difference between Alabama and Tennessee. Surprisingly, Kennedy claimed the two programs aren’t that different now that Pruitt is running the show on Rocky Top.

“Nothing really,” Kennedy claimed. “Pruitt is bringing the winning mindset here so for me, I just want to bring the leadership and experience I’ve had as a championship player to Tennessee.”

Coming from the player that would know better than anyone, that’s got to be music to the ears of Tennessee fans everywhere.