Keenan Pili Out For Several Weeks

After suffering an injury on Saturday against Virginia, Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Keenan Pili will be out for at least the week two matchup against Austin Peay.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Keenan Pili will be out for Saturday's matchup against Austin Peay. He suffered an upper-body injury in the game against the Virginia Cavaliers. In that game, Pili played 30 snaps, recording four tackles.

Vols' head coach Josh Heupel spoke about the injury while talking on an SEC teleconference, "I don't believe its season ending at this point... We'll see how he continues to heal up in the coming days and weeks."

Heupel also mentioned that it was unclear whether or not the injury was overly severe. He also mentioned that Pili will more than likely miss multiple games beyond Austin Peay. There is no doubt that it is a brutal loss for the time being for this Volunteer defense. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks had nothing but high praises for Pili about the job he did during spring practice.

He said, "Everything that he brought to practice since he's been here – just great leadership, communication, just having the ability to command a defense...We are very pleased with what he brought, just his overall toughness and smart communication skills. We're excited for him." Pili initially landed on Rocky Top during the transfer portal. He formerly played for the BYU Cougars for four seasons. In Provo, he had over 100 total career tackles. He came to the Vols to use his COVID season.

Looking at Tennessee's linebacker depth, there are many options they can look for to replace Pili. This includes freshman phenom Arion Carter. He looks to be the number-one option for Tennessee this weekend. Another idea is for James Pearce to get more snaps than he initially got and to play alongside Roman Harrison and Aaron Beasley within the linebacking core. Nonetheless, the Vols certainly have options going forward with who they can play in Pili's spot while he is away. 

Tennessee ILB Keenan Pili during the win over Virginia on September 2nd, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Caitie McMekin of the News Sentinel)

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