Butch Jones gave a few more details on the injury to senior defensive end Curt Maggitt, who Jones confirmed earlier this week would miss “an extended period of time” after injuring his hip in the first half against Oklahoma and then sitting out the remaining of the game.
Jones went into more detail Wednesday on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, saying that Maggitt could be out eight weeks. Though he didn’t say what game he’d be back for specifically, an eight-week timetable for return would put him back in the lineup for the Nov. 14 matchup against North Texas. Maggitt could play in as many as four or five games from that point, depending on where UT finishes in the SEC East and their bowl eligibility.
Jones gave more of a vague answer when addressing the local media on Wednesday afternoon, saying it could be in the 6-10 week range for Maggitt, but that “all goals are that he’ll be back at some point in time, but it’s all based on how his body heals.”
“It’s basically a chipped bone in his hip, but it’s a small chip to my knowledge, so it doesn’t require surgery,” Jones explained.
Maggitt a redshirt senior who missed part of 2012 and all of 2013 with a torn ACL and underwent shoulder surgery over the offseason, is one of the unquestioned leaders of the team and was one of the most productive defensive players in the SEC in 2014 after he piled up 48 tackles with a team-best 11 sacks and 15 tackles for loss
He had seven tackles, three for loss, in just over one full game in 2015 before going down with the injury.
Defensive coordinator John Jancek addressed who needs to step up in Maggitt’s absence on Tuesday evening.
“We’ve got Corey [Vereen], Kyle [Phillips], and [Dimarya] Mixon,” Jancek said. “All those guys will get some time in there. In today’s game, you have to roll a lot of players in. It’s really, “Who get the first four reps?” then “Who gets the second four reps?” Basically, that’s how it works itself out, but we’ll roll those guys in throughout the week.”
