Brandon Kennedy will suit up for Tennessee in 2018. After the SEC made this move possible following a rule change to the league’s previous graduate transfer rules at the latest SEC Spring Meetings, the move seemed inevitable.
According to Austin Price of Volquest, Alabama graduate transfer offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy has decided to finish his college career in Knoxville, as the former Crimson Tide lineman will be following Jeremy Pruitt to Rocky Top (UPDATE: Kennedy has confirmed his addition to Tennessee’s roster). Kennedy is expected to arrive this summer and has two seasons to play two for the Vols. He projects as a likely starter on Tennessee’s offensive line.
Under previous SEC rules, graduate transfers were prohibited from jumping from one SEC program to another without permission from their previous school. However, those moves were not unprecedented, as they had occurred several times in recent seasons. Be that as it may, Nick Saban fought tooth and nail to keep his players from leaving for other SEC programs and cited the SEC rule prior to the league vote at the SEC Spring Meetings.
Here’s what Saban had to say regarding the rule in Destin when asked why he blocked graduate transfers from transferring within the league.
“Then we should change the rule. I don’t think it should be on me, I think we should change the rule,” Saban said during the latest SEC Spring Meetings. “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.”
Kennedy signed with Alabama in the 2015 recruiting cycle. He was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 19 offensive guard in the country. 247Sports Composite rated him as the No. 296 overall player in the nation in 2015.
Huge addition. Capable of excelling at any three of the interior OL positions. Great get for Pruitt and company.
— Clint Lamb (@ClintRLamb) June 14, 2018
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
