Why Keenan Pili decided to return to Tennessee football in 2024 after season-ending injury
Keenan Pili had a secret of sorts when he joined Tennessee football: The BYU transfer linebacker had two years left to play.
The veteran linebacker kept that fact largely to himself with plans of playing one season with the Vols as his final season of college football. Then it came in useful after Pili suffered a season-ending arm injury and had the option to come back.
"I wasn’t planning on being here another year but excited to be part of that," Pili said Monday. "Just to come back and finish what I wanted to start (by having) a good year at Tennessee. That would be amazing.”
Pili announced Dec. 8 that he is returning to Tennessee in 2024, using that extra year of eligibility he had due to a season-ending knee injury in 2021 at BYU. He will play a seventh season of college football and his second at UT.
Why Keenan Pili decided to return to Tennessee football
Pili suffered a triceps injury in his first game with the Vols against Virginia on Sept. 2 in Nashville. He didn't start having conversations about returning until later in the season, but it wasn't a complicated choice.
“I think diving into Tennessee, this program, it was really easy to say, ‘Man, I’d love to come back. Who wouldn’t want to be here for another year?' " Pili said. "I think that had to do with a big part of me wanting to come back rather than leaving.”
Pili was at BYU for five seasons before transferring to UT. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Pili redshirted as a freshman in 2016 before he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando, Florida, from 2017-19. He returned to BYU to play four seasons, but suffered a torn ACL early in the 2021 season.
That is why Pili knew he had another year if he suffered another injury at Tennessee. He said getting a waiver for his seventh season wasn't challenging due having two season-ending injuries.
How Keenan Pili is recovering from tricep injury
Pili knew he was injured in the first quarter of Tennessee's win against Virginia. He kept playing anyway but in the third quarter he could barely move his arm.
“I knew the injury was bad right after the game," Pili said. "I was pretty down about that.”
Coach Josh Heupel expressed hope that Pili would return late in the season. That did not happen and Pili won't play in the Citrus Bowl when the No. 21 Vols (8-4) play No. 17 Iowa (10-3) on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET, ABC) in Orlando, Florida.
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Pili said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery and is working toward being fully healthy for next season. He credited his wife for being a huge support and help during the surgery and recovery process.
Pili is expected to be a starting inside linebacker for UT next season like he was this season pre-injury. He'll likely play next to Elijah Herring, who stepped in and had 75 tackles. Pili has played in 36 career games with 25 starts. Pili had 190 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and three sacks at BYU. He had 62 tackles and five tackles for loss in 2022.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Keenan Pili on return to Tennessee football, injury recovery
