Tennessee football's Keenan Pili injured, out vs Austin Peay after Vols debut earned a game ball
Tennessee football linebacker Keenan Pili will not play against Austin Peay on Saturday due to an injury, coach Josh Heupel said.
"We weren't sure earlier in the week about the severity of his injury. He will not be available this week," Heupel said on the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday. "He'll miss a couple of weeks.
"I don't believe it's season-ending at this point. We'll see how he continues to heal up in the coming days and weeks."
Pili, a BYU transfer, started at middle linebacker in his first UT game, a 49-13 win over Virginia on Saturday. And he was awarded a game ball by Heupel.
The Vols (1-0) will play Austin Peay (0-1) on Saturday (5 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+) at Neyland Stadium.
Pili had four tackles. He played 30 defensive snaps, fourth-most on the unit, and four special teams snaps.
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Tim Banks was asked why Pili was given a game ball. He listed intangibles that Pili had shown throughout preseason practice rather than just his performance in the Virginia game.
“Everything that he brought to practice since he’s been here – just great leadership, communication, just having the ability to command a defense,” Banks said. “We are very pleased with what he brought, just his overall toughness and smart communication skills. We’re excited for him.”
Who replaces Keenan Pili at middle linebacker
Pili was replaced by sophomore Elijah Herring at middle linebacker. Herring, a former Riverdale standout, led the team with five tackles, including one for a loss.
Aaron Beasley can also play middle linebacker. That’s where he played most of last season before moving to weakside linebacker late in the season, which included his dominant performance in the Orange Bowl.
So moving Beasley to the middle could take a playmaker out of a position where he can make more plays.
Talented freshman Arion Carter is the next player in the rotation. As Beasley’s backup at weakside linebacker, Carter had four tackles against Virginia. He has elite athleticism but sometimes gets out of position, which is typical for a freshman.
Linebacker has been a snake-bitten position for Vols
Depth at linebacker has been a longstanding problem for the Vols under Heupel.
In 2021, UT didn’t have enough scholarship linebackers to field a rotation in spring practice. That fall, Texas transfer Juwan Mitchell was lost to a season-ending injury in his third game with the Vols.
In 2022, Michigan transfer William Mohan was dismissed from the team before the season. Then Jeremy Banks missed two of his last three games that season. One appeared to be a disciplinary action, and he opted out of the Orange Bowl.
Linebacker Kwauze Garland played only one game in 2022 because of injuries, and he was ruled out for this season.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football: Keenan Pili injured, out against Austin Peay
