Tennessee senior defensive back Shawn Shamburger will not play the remainder of the season, Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt announced during his press conference on Monday.
“Shawn is working on academics,” Pruitt told reporters over Zoom. “This has been a very unusual circumstance with this whole deal. You try to do school from home, not being in-person, again when you talk about tutors and things like that. One of the things that he’s focusing on, he’s going to focus on academics the rest of the semester.”
Shamburger has played in three games this season after missing the first two games. He has nine tackles on the season.
The veteran who has played in 36 games and started 15, recorded a career-high 47 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception last season playing primarily at the STAR position. He also had two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Shamburger signed with the Vols as a three-star recruit coming out of Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Georgia. He was named to he 2016 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class 7A Honorable Mention and All-Region 1-7A Utility Player of the Year. As a senior, he totaled 51 tackles (42 solo) with three tackles for loss, five interceptions, seven PBUs, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and half a sack. He also ran track in high school.
He made 11 appearances with one start in 2017 as a true freshman and finished with 19 tackles and one sack. Against No. 1 Alabama, he made his first career start and finished with 12 tackles and a sack.
As a sophomore in 2018, Shamburger appeared in 12 games with two starts. He finished the season with 11 tackles and two pass breakups.
