Kamal Hadden had his ups and downs at Tennessee, but firmly established himself as one of the top players in the Vols’ secondary after a dominant performance against South Carolina this past regular season.

Hadden finished the Vols’ 41-20 revenge win over the Gamecocks with 3 tackles and an interception returned for a touchdown that became perhaps the most important score of the game.

The score sat at 17-10 and the Gamecocks made a stop with around 2 minutes and 30 minutes to go until halftime. USC could tie things up heading into the half, which would have been a monster blow to the Vols, who controlled the entirety of the first 28 or so minutes up to that point.

Then, this happened. You may remember it well, Vols fans:

Tennessee entered the half up 14 and received the ball after the break. The Vols then went on a 12-play scoring drive to take a 31-10 lead and the revenge from last season’s 63-38 loss was complete.

On Wednesday, Hadden revealed that he called his shot in a way. He posted the following screenshot on social media, explaining to what can be assumed a Tennessee coach how he was going to “get paid” off Spencer Rattler, who apparently had been saying he was going to target Hadden.

Fittingly, Hadden entered his name into the NFL Draft the week before Christmas and will not suit up for the Vols next season as he is out of eligibility.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, Hadden suffered a season-ending injury in a loss to Alabama and missed the back half of the season. He finished his senior season with 19 tackles, 7 pass deflections and 3 interceptions across just 7 games in 2023.