The Vols have picked up another grad transfer, and this one’s a big one. VolQuest’s Austin Price is reporting that former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy has officially decided to play for Tennessee.
Kennedy is apparently already in Knoxville, and he’s expected to enroll at UT sometime this summer. He has two years of eligibility remaining and should be in the mix to start at either center or guard this fall.
According to his profile on Alabama’s roster (still up as of this writing), Kennedy is 6’3″ and 314 pounds, and he was the team’s backup center last year until a season-ending foot injury derailed his season. He played in three games last year and seven games in 2016.
As a recruit, Kennedy was a 4-star prospect in the Class of 2015, and 247Sports ranked him as the nation’s No. 19 offensive guard. His top five offers were from Clemson, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.
Kennedy’s name was mentioned often this past spring as the coaches and league debated the graduate transfer rules. During the spring meetings in Destin, the coaches voted to amend the rule requiring grad transfers to sit out for a year if transferring within the conference. That paved the way for Kennedy to choose between Tennessee and Auburn, and he ultimately chose the Vols.