"I've started to realize Kendall went through the same exact thing I went through but I've been here as his father to kind of guide him through," Bussey Sr. said. "My senior year in 1990, LSU's coach got fired in late November and I was committed to LSU. I had to really scramble and find somewhere to call home and me and Kordell Stewart were best friends growing up, we grew up two doors down from each other. I ended up going to Colorado basically because he went to Colorado. I didn't know much about the Buffaloes." "Now, Kendall has gone through the same process," Bussey Sr. explained. "It looked like Nebraska was the perfect fit with the offense and coaching staff there and then Bo Pelini gets fired in late November but the good thing was we were able to continue the process and didn't have all of our eggs in one basket and now I'm very happy for him to be going to a school that he's always dreamed about going."
"Since he was 10-years old he's loved the University of Tennessee when he ran the junior olympics there when he was nine and 10. It's very exciting to see him go to the college of his dreams. I grew up loving the Miami Hurricanes but ended up going to Colorado," Bussey Sr. said. "So many kids grow up loving a certain college or team and end up playing somewhere else and it's a unique situation where he gets to go to the school where he told me he was going to go when he was 10 years old. To come back and see it happen almost eight years later is like a dream come true for me as a father.""I actually contacted coach Gillespie back in the spring and he came down and watched spring ball and with Kendall being committed to Nebraska I don't think they took him liking Tennessee too seriously," Bussey Sr. explained. "We reached out a couple of times and as Kendall put up some serious numbers his senior year I think the interest got really stronger. But, Kendall was kind of late and they had two running backs committed but we came down for the Alabama game.
"It was a great experience and coach Butch took the time to visit with us and I just saw his eyes light up. But, he didn't have that offer when he left but it was still one of those things were we had to get to know each other a little better. Coach Butch called that Tuesday when we got back and he was just jumping for joy. I had never seen him this excited in his whole life." "But, he still had his commitment to Nebraska and he still wanted to possibly fulfill that," Bussey Sr. explained. "I just told him to step back and that, 'God will open up the doors and show you what is going to happen.' So, he just waited for God to move and when He did we knew it was the right move. We just wanted to see how things played out and now I'm so excited for him because he's a good kid and he's worked so hard and to get to see his dream come true is very exciting for us.
"Kendall is a very low-key guy and when he opened up his recruiting after Pelini got fired a lot of new schools jumped on board from Notre Dame to Georgia Tech, it was just becoming overwhelming. We had over 30 in-home visits last week. He came to me Sunday and he said, 'Dad, I don't want to do this anymore. I already know where I want to go.'
"We narrowed it down to two schools but he already knew in his heart. We just wanted to make sure because he had a great relationship with the A&M coaches and with a lot of New Orleans kids going to A&M and a good friend, Christian Kirk, going to A&M, it was enticing to go to A&M. But, he just wanted to follow his heart. " "He said he never wants to look back and say he had an opportunity to live out his dream and didn't do it," Bussey Sr. explained. "He knew when he asked himself if he couldn't play football and just wanted to go to college and he knew that was Tennessee. And so he was ready to make that call and pull the trigger."
"It's been a long process and I'm ready to get it over with but having him by my side and him letting me know what to look for and what not to look for in every college and every coach is awesome," Bussey Jr. said. "During his time committed to LSU he was kind of stuck and stranded and he didn't know what moves to make next but it's helped me since he's been through that situation."
