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Tennessee football: Nick Saban’s actions prove Vols could be a threat in 2018

By Caleb Calhoun

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts to a play during the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s move to block a graduate transfer from joining Tennessee football proves Jeremy Pruitt is making the Volunteers a threat.

Related Story: Top 15 recruiting prospects for Vols to pursue in 2019

If Nick Saban comes for you, it’s because he views you as a threat to his regime. He came for Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines on the issue of satellite camps. He complained about up-tempo offenses when the Auburn Tigers won off the Kick-Six in Gus Malzahn’s first year in 2013. And now, he’s got a new rule for himself that he’s using against Tennessee football.

Saban is trying to block graduate offensive line transfer Brandon Kennedy from using his final year of eligibility at two schools: Auburn and Tennessee. According to AL.com, Saban criticized the idea of having ‘free agency’ within the SEC.

The Tigers and the Vols are the top two teams pursuing Kennedy right now. Jeremy Pruitt, meanwhile, said last week on WNML that players who have earned their degree, which obviously applies to graduate transfers, should have the right to choose where they want to go.

So add the former Saban assistant to the list of coaches who have feuded or disagreed with Saban when it comes to college football rules. And if you’re a Tennessee football fan, this is good news. Saban only takes action against schools and coaches he fears.

It would have made sense for him to target Auburn in trying to use this rule. The Tigers beat his team last year, keeping them out of the SEC title game with a chance to win their fourth straight conference championship.

But why would he specifically target the Vols too? Alabama has beaten Tennessee football for 11 straight years, and it’s not like Kennedy is central to the Vols future. He would only play on Rocky Top for a year, and that year is supposed to be a rebuilding year.

This proves one thing: Saban is taking Pruitt seriously when Pruitt says he expects to win big in 2018. It only makes sense. Why else would Saban deal with the PR nightmare of blocking a graduate transfer from going to Tennessee?

The Vols are not supposed to be good this year, so they shouldn’t be a threat to the Tide. But Saban must clearly know something about the graduate transfers and junior college transfers Pruitt is bringing in.

On top of that, he probably knows the implications of Tennessee football becoming an even bigger recruiting power if they have a very successful 2018. Seeing all that, Saban is clearly taking a stance against something that helps the Vols.

Again, he only does this if he views you as a threat. Now, at this point, Harbaugh doesn’t appear to be as much of a threat as we thought he would be. But that doesn’t mean that he or anybody else foresaw that two years ago when he complained about satellite camps. In the ensuing season, Michigan was two plays away from playing for the Big Ten and national titles.

Next: https://allfortennessee.com/2018/05/15/tennessee-football-outofstate-vols/

This new move clearly shows that he has faith in what Pruitt is doing with the Vols. And Tennessee football fans everywhere should be ecstatic over the fact that Saban is now trying to sabotage Rocky Top in any way he can.

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