The good news continues to come in for Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee program as senior Brandon Kennedy is eligible to return to Rocky Top next season.

The team’s starting center announced that the NCAA had granted him a sixth-year of eligibility following Tennessee’s 23-22 comeback victory over Indiana in the Gator Bowl.

“It’s official,” Kennedy noted.

He also added that he knew of that decision for a few weeks.

Kennedy missed nearly the entire 2018 season for Tennessee after transferring in from Alabama as a graduate transfer. He has served as the Volunteers starting center since his arrival on Rocky Top.

Leading up to the Gator Bowl, Kennedy’s status was unclear as the senior lineman had surgery on his knee immediately following the end of the regular season. Getting back on the field appeared to be a longshot in late December but when the Gator Bowl arrived, Kennedy was in the lineup.

“I was intending to play after the surgery but I just didn’t know how I was going to be after, so I had to see how I would respond, it was kind of what I did,” Kennedy noted.

If it was going to be his last opportunity to suit up for the Big Orange, Kennedy wanted to be there with his teammates. Thankfully, he now knows he’ll have one last season to play on Rocky Top.