Brandon Warren denied release

Former Seminole tight end won’t be freed from his scholarship at FSU.

Former Florida State tight end Brandon Warren’s request to be released from his football scholarship at Florida State University was denied Tuesday.

It has long been rumored that the Alcoa, Tenn native, who left school and returned home on Feb. 9, would transfer to the University of Tennessee. The denial of his release means that Warren, if he chooses to attend his hometown university, will have to do so by paying his own way.

Warren’s mother, Deidre, expressed her dissatisfaction with Florida State in a telephone interview conducted by the Tallahassee Democrat Tuesday afternoon.

"I am very disappointed in Florida State right now," she told the Democrat. "I guess I thought better of Coach Bowden."

Because of privacy laws, FSU officials and Coach Bowden have acknowledged the release but will not comment publicly. A call to Warren was not immediately returned.

Warren is entitled to appeal the decision to FSU’s NCAA faculty representative Joe Beckham.

As a true freshman a season ago, Warren showed flashes of what made him one of the most sought after recruits in the nation coming out of high school. He finished the season as the team’s fifth-leading receiver with 28 catches for 301 yards and one touchdown.

Warren’s absence from the team means that FSU will have only one healthy scholarship tight end on the roster, Charlie Graham, when spring practice kicks off on March 15. Former defensive end D.J. Norris has made the switch to tight end but is recuperating from a shoulder injury and has yet to be cleared to practice.

Junior college transfer Jonathan Hannah is set to join the team this summer.