Bryson Kennedy is not going to play high school football at Duncanville after all. The highly-touted quarterback was ruled ineligible by the governing body of high school sports in the state of Texas.
This denial seems to stem from unintentionally incriminating comments he made on a podcast.
He implied that his decision to move was only for high school football and not academics or family or professional opportunities. That is considered a violation of transfer rules.
Who is Bryson Kennedy?
If you are not already familiar with this name, now is a great time to get acclimated. Bryson Kennedy is considered to be one of the top quarterbacks in the college football recruiting Class of 2029. The rising sophomore in high school has already received scholarship offers from schools like Miami, Arkansas, Missouri, SMU, Florida, Louisville, Oklahoma and Auburn before the end of his true freshman academic year, among others. That list will only continue to grow in the coming days, weeks and months.
Kennedy started every game on the varsity team at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas as a 14-year-old in the fall. Although the Tigers were not very good, their quarterback was a star. He has an extremely strong arm at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds and he can scoot!
Kennedy also plays basketball in the winter and runs the 100-, 200- and 400-meter events in track. He is a certified multi-sport athlete but his future is on the gridiron. His impressive first year at Little Rock Central landed him an invitation to the Elite 11 Regional in Nashville. It was a very solid showing.
2029 QB Bryson Kennedy (@BrysonKenn85401) is a SUPERSTAR!! @ArElite100
— Earl Gill (@EarlGill10) April 1, 2025
🎥: @JimmyBartell pic.twitter.com/44U4XTG4NX
There is a lot of buzz about Kennedy’s potential. He could end up as the top-ranked quarterback in his class if he can maintain this success over the next three years.
He will not play high school football at Duncanville after all.
Bryson Kennedy played his freshman season on a bad Little Rock Central team. He and his family moved to the Dallas area over the winter break and enrolled at Duncanville High School. The Panthers are one of the best programs in the state of Texas. They won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023.
Kennedy was expected to compete for (and probably win) the starting job for Duncanville during the spring practice period and during fall camp. He was likely going to replace J’Coryon Rivers, who is graduating after a state runner-up finish in 2025.
Not anymore. Kennedy was ruled ineligible by the governing body of high school sports in Texas for the 2026 season. The University Interscholastic League determined that his transfer was only for athletic reasons. It gave the following explanation:
“Unfortunately, due to the video shared with us by the UIL, our governing body for extracurricular participation, we were unable to certify the eligibility for B. Kennedy as we believe the move was for athletic purposes. Aside from the video, we also received text message evidence of soliciting other schools prior to your move to the metroplex. We also inquired about the article submitted after the video – and unfortunately, this was not sufficient to change the decision.”
— UIL representative
Kennedy’s father made the following post on Facebook:
“I’ve been quiet about everything, so I know everyone was looking forward to Bryson being the starting QB for Duncanville, but it won’t happen due to Bryson being ineligible. This video is crazy; this isn’t the beginning of the video. And then Hayward Adams and his family were soliciting people to say my son was recruited to Duncanville. His own teammate’s parents were harassing people from Arkansas. Man, it ain’t that deep 😂😂😂. Then they received text messages from a coach close to Ant Rob at Central saying, ‘We’re soliciting schools, cut the crap.’ No one at Central did that. So I asked who it was, and she said they asked to remain anonymous. Aw, okay, another lie. They wouldn’t allow me to appeal the decision, which was fine. I spent over $15,000 moving to Duncanville out of my own pocket; no one paid us, so we returned to our home school, Little Rock Central. Which we could have stayed and played at a private or charter school and been eligible right away, but overall, my family and I are okay. God has gotten us and has been good to my family, and we’re blessed. So many doors have opened for the Kennedys; there’s no stopping us. This just makes us go harder.”
— Anthony D Kennedy Sr. via Facebook
The “video” in reference seems to refer to a podcast appearance earlier this year. Kennedy was asked why he transferred to Duncanville. He said that it was a better opportunity as a “player.”
That is not confirmed, as neither UIL nor Duncanville ISD responded to a request for comment, but that seems to be the most logical conclusion. Kennedy accidentally implied that his decision to move from Arkansas to Texas was only for athletics. Now he is back at Little Rock Central.