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If you're just tuning into the Brandon Warren-transfer soap opera, here's the cheat sheet: citing his ailing mother in Tennessee as a need to move back home, Florida State's Freshman All-American tight end Brandon Warren asked for a release from his scholarship earlier this spring with an eye toward playing football for the University of Tennessee. Bobby Bowden denied the request, possibly resenting the fact that a recruit Warren hosted earlier in the semester ended up signing with the Vols. Bowden's decision, while petty, is not surprising, and Warren went ahead with an appeal that would allow him to play for UT this fall.

But barring a last-ditch appeal to the NCAA, Warren won't be a Tennessee Vol -- or anything else -- this fall. Warren's appeal to a Florida State faculty panel was denied on Monday:

"It is the determination of the faculty panel that the information presented by Brandon Warren does not rise to the level of 'objective evidence that proves the student-athlete's extraordinary personal hardship' and is insufficient to support his appeal of the NCAA and FSU transfer policy. Panel members were unanimous in their conclusions that the appeal should be denied and the transfer rule should be enforced."

This latest setback for Warren leaves him with two options for the upcoming season. First, he can hope for a favorable ruling from the NCAA in a hardship case, however, I doubt the evidence would be any different than what was presented to the FSU faculty panel and therefore should be a pretty hard case to win. If Warren were to win such an appeal, he would be eligible to play for Tennessee (or any other school) immediately. If he loses, Warren would have to sit out for two full years before regaining eligibility.

The safer option is for Warren to attend a junior college for one year (without playing football), at the end of which, he'd be eligible to attend any college right away. It would be difficult for Warren to voluntarily give up a year of football, but that's essentially what he did when he left FSU in mid-semester anyway.