Coach Butch Jones revealed on his coaches' show that the status of All-SEC linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin for Saturday's CBS afternoon game at Georgia is more in question than first believed. He left the game against Florida last week early and suffered a "shoulder strain"against Ohio the week before.
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"Jalen Reeves-Maybin, we're still waiting on some final tests, another MRI, waiting on a word from there to see how his health is progressing," Jones said Wednesday night, two days after saying the star linebacker was expected to play against the Bulldogs.
Reeves-Maybin was the leading tackler last season and suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and missed all of the spring because of it. "You talk about resilience, not many teams in the country handle that when you take out three NFL type of players, three all-conference players," Jones said. "We've had individuals step up, and we'll need that same monumental effort in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday."
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The Vols definitely will with safety Cam Sutton likely out for the year with a fractured ankle and freshman linebacker Quart'e Sapp out for the year as well. Linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. will miss his third straight game with a high ankle sprain, but is expected to come back this season.
[h/t SEC Country]