Alabama redshirt freshman cornerback Kendall Sheffield has reportedly been granted his release from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide football program and will transfer, according to Gerry Hamilton of ESPN.com.

Sheffield was not present at either of Alabama’s latest three practice sessions. He had seen some reps at cornerback with the first-team secondary in previous practices’ nickel drills, but the Tide secondary was far from set with a lot of moving pieces during fall camp. Sheffield has been concerned with possible playing time, sources told BamaOnLine.

His release, of course, has the stipulation that Sheffield cannot transfer to another SEC school.

“Kendall Sheffield has not been here for last couple days,” Saban said. “I don’t really know what his status is, so there’s no need to ask me. We’re happy to have him back, he’s a fine young man, he’s worked hard, he’s made a lot of improvement here. We enjoy having him be a part of the team, if that’s what he chooses, and we will continue to work with him in a positive way to help him develop personally, academically and athletically.”

Sheffield redshirted last season after arriving to Tuscaloosa as the No. 3 player in the state of Texas, No. 4 cornerback and No. 20 overall prospect in the 2015 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Sheffield becomes the fourth member of the 2015 signing class to transfer, joining Shawn Burgess-Becker, Adonis Thomas and Daylon Charlot.

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