With the 2025 recruiting cycle starting to wind down to an extent, Middle Tennessee is looking to address a couple more needs to round out the next class of prep players. Among those few spots, the coaching staff is looking to add to the defensive back class and local safety Locke Kennedy has the attention of the staff with a standout senior year.

He recently picked up an offer from the Blue Raiders and made the trip to Murfreesboro to see the team in-person and grow on his connections with the coaches.

Battle Ground Academy has a very good yet very young team this season. This meant the new coaching staff was looking for someone to step up as a leader for the program, something that has been missing the past couple of seasons.

"Leadership is very important to me. I've been at BGA since kindergarten," he said. "We haven't had a leader for two years, and now we have multiple leaders, so it's definitely been a change in my game for sure."

That leadership has helped him commandeer a talented defense to stop opposing offenses. It has also allowed him to become a veteran presence for the offense as a receiver, which has helped him become a true playmaker when attacking the ball, something MTSU likes about his game.

"They like my length. I can come downhill and hit someone along with having ball skills and quick twitch," he said to GoMiddle.

The day after scoring the vital touchdown above, he would visit MTSU for a home game. As he connected with the new coaching staff before the matchup against Duke, he noticed a true difference inside the program.

"It was great. I had a lot of fun and definitely saw a difference in the program. I met some great coaches, so it was definitely a great time," said Kennedy.

During the visit, head coach Derek Mason made sure to make the time to chop it up with the defensive back for an extended period of time. Kennedy also talked to several other coaches on the staff, starting to get a positive feel for the new regime.

"I like them a lot. They have a good thing going for sure."

As he continued to communicate with the staff, he started to talk about setting up an official visit later in the season to get an extended look inside the program that will build off what he saw during his last trip.

"We talked about an official visit in November. I will probably take an official around then, so I can really see what they're about," he told GoMiddle.