Tennessee dismisses junior linebacker Kivon Bennett following arrest

The hits just keep on coming for Tennessee football.

Starting edge rusher Kivon Bennett has been dismissed from the program tonight following an arrest on Tuesday morning. Bennett was arrested on drugs, and weapon charges on the Tennessee campus.

Head coach Jeremy Pruitt released the following statement shortly after the news broke.

“Kivon Bennett has been dismissed from our football program following a traffic stop earlier today. There is a standard our student-athletes are expected to uphold at Tennessee, and today’s incident fell well short of that standard.” — Jeremy Pruitt

According to a report from WATE, Bennett was pulled over for speeding. Officers then smelled a strong marijuana odor, and then Bennett admitted that there was a gun under his seat.

Bennett told the officer that there was marijuana in the vehicle and when asked if there was any weapons in the car, he told the officer that he had a Glock 17 under his driver’s seat.

Bennett is being charged with possession of a firearm with intent to go armed (dangerous felony), possession of schedule VI drugs with intent, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and prohibited from possessing a firearm under state/federal law. (WATE)

The 6-2, 245 pound junior was a main part of Tennessee’s pass rush. He was credited with 4.5 sacks on the season, playing alongside of Deandre Johnson. With Bennett out of the picture, expect more time for freshmen Tyler Baron and Morven Joseph, along with sophomore Roman Harrison.