Tennessee LB Keenan Pili Out for Season With Torn ACL

A huge blow to the Vols' defense and a sad end to Pili's career.

Tanner Johnson | Oct 14, 2024

Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili (11) walks off the field during a game between Florida and Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee will be without one of its defensive leaders for the remainder of the season.

Starting linebacker and team captain Keenan Pili will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL that he suffered in the first quarter of the Florida game, confirmed by head coach Josh Heupel. It is another tough blow for Pili who is in his seventh year of college football. This is the third season-ending injury of his career after most recently missing all of 2023 with a triceps injury. He previously played for BYU and started 25 games for the Cougars.

The injury happened when he was making a tackle on a pass play and then went down, grabbing his right knee. He remained down for a couple of minutes before being helped off the field and going straight into the injury tent. It was not long after he went into the tent that he was walked to the locker room and declared out for the game.

“I’m not sure there’s a better representative of what a Volunteer is than Keenan Pili,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the game. “You talk about a selfless guy that cares about the people around him way more than he cares about himself, that’s an elite competitor, great leader, tough as nails, athletic, explosive – everything that you want… he’s a dude, man. Special dude.”

Pili entered the Florida game as the Vols' leading tackler with 28 on the season. Once he left the game with the injury, sophomore Jeremiah Telander was forced into his starting spot alongside Arion Carter.

Tennessee will greatly miss Pili's experience and leadership on the field. The injury could not have come at a worse time for Tennessee, as they welcome Alabama to Knoxville for the biggest game of the year so far on the Vols' schedule.