Tennessee defensive end Darrell Taylor has been reinstated after serving a two-game suspension and will play in Saturday's game at Kentucky, head coach Butch Jones announced in a school release obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel.
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"Darrell has completed the requirements we had set for him to return to play and he will be available tonight against Kentucky," UT coach Butch Jones said in a school release Saturday afternoon. "He must continue to meet criteria we have set forth for him on a daily and weekly basis."
Taylor, who has started in each of the Vols' first five games, was suspended indefinitely after reportedly being involved in a fight with teammate Trey Smith, which resulted in the offensive linemen needing stitches.
The incident was originally reported by Twitter user "Illated94" last Thursday and later reported by WNML's Jimmy Hyams through sources.
Source: UT DE Darrell Taylor kicked OL Trey Smith's face at
practice during 1 minute drill Thursday, leading to Smith needing stitches.— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) October 6, 2017
According to Hyams' source, Smith's helmet reportedly came off while pancaking Taylor during a drill. The two wrestled, which led to Taylor attempting to kick Smith and hit him in the face.
Taylor reportedly apologized to Smith, according to Hyams. Taylor was already scheduled to serve a previous suspension, which stemmed from an ejection for a personal foul during last Saturday's game against Georgia, which was supposed to be enforced during the first half of the Vols' loss to South Carolina.
