Sunday morning notes: Football in the transfer market and hoops

FOOTBALL -- From Austin Price...

Alabama offensive guard/center grad transfer Brandon Kennedy is on the verge of finding a new home. The transfer lacks league approval to move within the conference but multiple sources this morning tell Volquest there is a strong belief the SEC will approve the move for Kennedy. Those same sources indicate Tennessee has emerged as the preferred destination for the former Rivals 4-star. As reported by AL.com, Alabama has tried to block such a move but there is a previous precedent with Georgia landing Maurice Smith from Alabama when Kirby Smart left for Athens. The Crimson Tide attempted to throw up a stop sign to that transfer before the transfer became official when the league office intervened. Kennedy has two years to play no matter where he ends up.

HOOPS -- From Rob Lewis in Atlanta...

I ad a chance to catch up with DJ Burns. He really wasn’t giving anything new away, no deadline for a decision. However, after talking with him I still feel good about Tennessee chances but he did not want to say that he had anyone in front. Despite his reluctance to say that Tennessee was his leader I will still be surprised If things don’t work out for the Vols in the end there.

Also I had a chance to talk with Trey Mann. It sounds like that recruitment is slowing down somewhat as a result of a lot of high-level interest from Kansas among others. After his official visit to Tennessee and the one to Florida, Mann sounded like he was on the verge of making a decision. Now it sounds like he wants to visit Kansas.I still think that Tennessee is very much in it with Mann, he definitely has a good relationship with the coaching staff but it still feels like this one has some twist and turns to go.

Spoke with Mann’s AAU teammate CJ Walker who recently picked up a Tennessee offer. He is a really athletic wing player that can do a lot of things on the court. He told me he doesn’t know a lot about Tennessee right now, but is very interested in finding out more. As of right now I would guess that Tennessee is probably one of the schools Walker would make an official visit to if he was deciding today. But he is a guy who's recruitment seems to really be picking up and the Vols are one of several that have jumped in there since the April evaluation period.

Also I spoke with Alabama point guard Kira Lewis. He’s having a great spring. Tennessee was one of the first schools to offer and the Vols are in the thick of it. However, he’s recently picked up heavy interest from Kentucky as well as Kansas and seems intent on exploring his options. I would guess the Vols will stay involved there though, he has a lot of positives to say about the program and the staff.