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    • Tennessee LB is out for the season with an ACL injury
    Duluth

    Tennessee LB is out for the season with an ACL injury

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

    Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Vols’ 23-17 overtime win against Florida, coach Josh Heupel said.

    It’s also the end of Pili’s UT career. The BYU transfer is a 26-year-old and seventh-grader who has already had a medical redshirt in two previous seasons.

    “Keenan had an ACL injury and will be out for the season,” Heupel said. “There is no one who represents Tennessee better than him. “He is a great leader and will continue to be in our building. It just breaks his and his family’s hearts. (He’s) a guy who does absolutely everything right and a special, special player, but also a special person. He has a great future.”

    Pili is a key cog in the Vols’ elite defense. He is a team captain and Tennessee’s co-leader in tackles with 29. He also wears the in-helmet radio to receive messages directly from defensive coordinator Tim Banks while in the game.

    The Vols rank 2nd in total defense (249.8 ypg allowed) and 4th in point defense (10.7 ypg allowed).

    No. 10 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will have to adjust quickly before playing No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) at Neyland Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). .

    Pili spent the last two years at Tennessee after transferring from BYU, but only played seven games due to injuries. He missed 12 games in the 2023 season after suffering a triceps injury in the opener. And that knee injury ended his 2024 season halfway through.

    HEUPEL HELPS THE ALABAMA COACH Why he opened his playbook to Kalen DeBoer years ago

    Who will replace Keenan Pili on Tennessee’s defense?

    Sophomore Arion Carter is UT’s starter at weakside linebacker. Sophomore Jeremiah Telander will be Pili’s first backup at middle linebacker.

    Heupel said either Carter or Telander would wear the communications device in the helmet.

    “(We) haven’t finalized that yet,” Heupel said. “It could be Arion.” It could be Telander.

    Telander has 18 tackles and one fumble recovery this season. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 163 defensive snaps, almost as many as Pili’s 182 snaps.

    Carter leads all Tennessee linebackers with 231 defensive snaps. He has 27 tackles, including a team-leading 4.5 tackles-for-loss and an interception.

    Junior Kalib Perry and redshirt freshman Jalen Smith should also see increased playing time.

    “(Telander) played a lot throughout the season. “He literally played the entire football game the other day,” Heupel said. “Everyone has a lot of trust in him, but so do the other guys.”

    Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. e-mail [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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