Coaches Jeff Brohm, Josh Heupel Music City Bowl
Tennessee’s Cade Mays, Elijah Simmons, Kenneth George Jr and Brandon Turnage are inactive for the Vols’ in Thursday’s Music City Bowl.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel announced that Mays would be out for the bowl game in his Wednesday press conference as the senior lineman continues to work back from an ankle injury that sidelined him the final games of the regular season.
Defensive backs George and Turnage absence is another blow to a thin position group for Tennessee. Alontae Taylor opted out of the bowl game earlier this month and the Purdue’s pass first offense will consistently test the Vols’ secondary.
Kamal Hadden, Warren Burrell, Christian Charles and Tamorian McDonald could be thrust into a bigger role.
Simmons has started at nose tackle all season for the Vols but the rest of Tennessee’s defensive line is healthy. The final game of the 2021 season will be an opportunity for redshirt-freshman Omari Thomas to springboard into the offseason.
Kick off at Nissan Stadium is at 3 p.m. ET. ESPN will broadcast the game.
