The moment Jeremy Pruitt was fired at Tennessee, the Vols likely lost any chance of seeing Dylan Brooks in Orange and White.

Now that news is official as Tennessee has released Brooks from his National Letter of Intent and his SEC agreement, freeing the Alabama native to sign with any program of his choosing.

News of Tennessee releasing Brooks was first reported by Austin Price of Volquest.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Brooks signed with Tennessee after being rated as a four-star prospect, the No. 6 weakside defensive end and the No. 4 overall prospect from Alabama in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He was the highest-rated prospect to sign with Tennessee during the 2021 recruiting cycle.

Brooks’ release comes the same week as Tennessee released four-star Georgia running back Cody Brown from his National Letter of Intent.

While Brooks did sign with Tennessee during the Early Signing Period, when Pruitt was still the head coach of the Vols, he did not publicly release that information during the period. It was only later revealed that Brooks had signed with Tennessee.

A source tells SDS Brooks waited to announce his signing due to the uncertainty regarding Pruitt’s status at Tennessee. Obviously, those concerns were warranted, as Pruitt was fired by Tennessee weeks later.