Tennessee sophomore offensive tackle Chance Hall will miss anywhere between 4-6 weeks after having his knee scoped earlier in the day, head coach Butch Jones confirmed after practice Thursday evening.
Hall was the presumed starter at right tackle at the Vols after receiving All-SEC Freshman honors last year for his performance in 10 game appearances and seven starts at that spot. Pro Football Focus recently ranked Hall as the second-best pass protector in the SEC last season, based on grading his in-game performances.
That timeline would put Hall back in the lineup somewhere around the Ohio (Sept. 17) and Georgia (Oct. 1) games. That likely assures that redshirt freshman Drew Richmond will be the starting left tackle when the Vols open the season in two weeks, with redshirt junior Brett Kendrick manning the right side.
Freshmen Nathan Niehaus, Ryan Johnson and Marcus Tatum are other options at tackle, while the Vols also have a couple versatile players such as Coleman Thomas and Jack Jones who can slide to various spots on the line.
Butch Jones also said suspended defensive tackle Alexis Johnson was on the field for conditioning work, but will have to “continue to work his way back onto the team.”
Johnson, a four-star defensive tackle out of junior college, has been indefinitely suspended since February after being arrested at that time. Those charges have since either been reduced or dismissed and a student judiciary committee recently found no wrongdoing against him.
RTI’s Nick Davis contributed to this report
