Butch Jones Had 'No Say' in Brett Kendrick Playing with Reported Concussion

After Tennessee offensive lineman Brett Kendrick reportedly played a portion of Saturday's game against Kentucky with a concussion, per The Read Optional's Trey Wallace and Oliver Connolly, head coach Butch Jones addressed the situation during a press conference.

Asked about Kendrick being on the field, Jones said Wednesday he had "absolutely no say" in the decision to put the senior back in the game. 

“(Tennessee athletic director) John Currie issued a statement earlier today," Jones said (via Terry A. Lambert of Rocky Top Talk). "I’ll tell you this. We would never knowingly put a student athlete in harm’s way. Our medical staff has full authority on removing players from competition, but also have the authority to return players to competition.”

Austin Price of Rivals.com tweeted out the official statement from Currie regarding the situation involving Kendrick:

Wallace and Connolly reported Kendrick played the second half against Kentucky with a concussion.

“He is resting in a dark room. He doesn’t remember anything about the second half of the game,” per a text message received by The Read Optional. “They left him in until the last 22 seconds and only pulled him out because he finally threw up on the sideline.”

Wallace and Connolly noted Kendrick informed a member of Tennessee's coaching staff he felt "woozy," but that it was unclear what and when Jones knew about the injury. 

Kendrick is a redshirt senior who has started all eight games and played three different positions on the offensive line for the Vols this season.