Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili is out for the remainder of the Vols’ rivalry matchup against Florida according to the ESPN broadcast.
Pili suffered an injury on Florida’s first drive of the game and after briefly heading to the medical tent, the Vols’ starting linebacker walked to the locker room. Around that time is when ESPN announced that Pili is out for the remainder of the game.
Stout against the run, the veteran Pili is Tennessee’s top linebacker and led the Vols with 28 tackles on the season entering the game. The super senior transferred from BYU to Tennessee ahead of the 2023 season but his season ended quickly after suffering a season ending injury in the season-opener against Virginia.
With Pili out, sophomore Jeremiah Telander will step into Pili’s starting role beside Arion Carter. Junior Kalib Perry and redshirt freshman Jalen Smith will also see increased playing time. Tennessee already has a pair of reserve linebackers, Edwin Spillman and Ben Bolton, out for the rivalry game.
At the time of publication, Florida leads Tennessee 3-0 late in the first quarter of the pivotal rivalry matchup at Neyland Stadium.
Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com all night for complete coverage of the Tennessee-Florida game and any updates that are given about the long term severity of Pili’s injury.
