Warren tries to be patient during appeal

The beginning of football practice is always a time for optimism. It's doubly so for Tennessee tight end Brandon Warren.

When Tennessee took the field for its first fall practice Saturday afternoon, the former Class 2A Mr. Football from Alcoa High School was all decked out for his first formal practice of any kind since leaving Florida State after earning freshman All-America honors in 2006.

Talking to the media en masse for the first time since returning home in February 2007, Warren expressed hope that he'll be eligible for the season opener Sept. 1 at UCLA.

For that to happen, he needs to win a hardship appeal to the NCAA and SEC, which were both filed shortly after he enrolled at UT in early June.

"I'm just being patient right now," Warren said in Neyland Stadium. "When they come to a decision, I'm sure I'll be pretty excited. I've got a pretty good feeling about it. It's a process I've got to go through, just wait my turn."

It's already been a long wait.

Warren left FSU in February 2007 and spent the rest of the semester at home with his mother Deirdre, who has continued health issues since battling cancer in 2005. He enrolled at Pellissippi State Technical Community College last summer, all while trying to unravel the red tape keeping him from getting back on the football field.

Florida State denied Warren's initial request for a release and a subsequent appeal to a faculty committee, however the NCAA's eligibility center granted his release last November. But the wait continues on his most recent appeals, which relate to his failure to make sufficient progress toward a degree by leaving FSU early and not completing the NCAA's year-in-residency requirement as a freshman.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer expressed his frustration with the SEC's delay in making a decision, which could come any day.

"Apparently the (SEC) commissioner is up to his neck and eyeballs in working with the TV contracts and so on, and we just have not gotten an answer back, which I think is long overdue," Fulmer said.

Despite the delay, Fulmer is optimistic that Warren will win the appeal.

"To me it's an absolute no-brainer," Fulmer said. "He's done all he needs to do. He certainly had a very legitimate reason to choose to transfer with his mother's illness. I just don't see how it doesn't work out. But I never fully understand everything that administrators do sometimes."

Warren was a little confused by Florida State's efforts to block his transfer, noting Saturday that the Seminoles' coaching staff knew his mother's situation and had even sent get-well wishes to his mother during his time at FSU.

"It wasn't like I just up and just (left)," Warren said. "I wanted to meet with (Florida State coach Bobby Bowden) and talk with him and let him know how I felt. He told me that they weren't going to let me go, no matter what I did.

"It was just a crazy situation. With them knowing everything about everything, it just kind of took me by surprise a little bit. Coach Bowden is supposed to be a Christian man and all that. I didn't really understand it."

One player who understands what Warren's been through is safety Demetrice Morley, who became fast friends after attending Pellissippi State at the same time.

"I hope everything comes through, everything works out for him," said Morley, who rejoined the Vols in January after a year at Pellissippi spent earning readmission to UT. "If he gets that chance and opportunity, he's going to do well. It's going to be tough for some guys to handle that load right there, man."

Despite the twists and turns - and uncertainty about his eligibility - Warren is clearly happy to be closer to home. And he wishes he'd followed his mother's advice and chosen Tennessee the first time around.

"Momma knows best, definitely," he said. "You should always go with your first instinct. I should have. But I'm here now, and I couldn't be happier. I love my teammates. I'm just in a good situation here."

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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