Injury-Plagued Players are Playing Well
One good thing for the Vols this year is that they haven’t had as many injuries this season so far as last year. Of course, Tennessee has just started their SEC schedule and will play some very physical teams upcoming, but so far the Vols haven’t been dealt as many injuries this year as they did to start last season.
A couple of the players on Tennessee’s roster who have dealt with injuries for a lot of their UT careers have gotten off to solid starts this season. Redshirt junior linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. and senior defensive tackle Shy Tuttle have both flashed some great ability this year and look like they could be in store for a good 2018 campaign.
Kirkland has started at one of the Vols’ two inside linebacker positions for most of the season, and he got the year started off with a bang with a career-high 10 tackles in UT’s contest with West Virginia. He then followed that up with a pick-six in Tennessee’s home opener against ETSU, and he managed a sack against UTEP.
In five games this season, Kirkland has 23 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a QB hurry, a pass defended, and an interception he’s returned for a touchdown. Not bad for a player who missed all of last season due to injury and a large chunk of 2016 because of injuries as well.
Tuttle has also been a starter for the Vols all season, and he’s been holding his own at nose tackle. He’s shown a burst and athleticism that’s been lacking since his first year on campus, and that’s because he’s finally healthy for the first time since he first arrived on campus. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound tackle picked up his first career sack as a Vol in the season opener against West Virginia, and he’s done a good job providing pressure up the middle on passing downs.
So far this year, Tuttle has 12 tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
