The “M.A.S.H. unit” is getting mixed results.
After leaving Saturday’s game with a slew of injury questions – particularly at the running back position – the Volunteers appear close to having two ball carriers back in action, while another is projected to miss an extended period of time.
At Monday’s press luncheon, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones confirmed that both freshman Jalen Hurd (shoulder) and senior Marlin Lane (ankle) are expected to practice this week and play on Saturday against Ole Miss.
Despite going though the latter part of pregame warmups with no apparent setbacks, Lane spent Saturday afternoon on the sidelines without pads on, while Hurd had just two carries for seven yards.
“We need to get Marlin Lane back healthy,” Jones said. “We fully anticipate him being available for the Ole Miss game.”
Added Jones, “Jalen will be full go. He will be at practice today. He will participate.”
Meanwhile, senior running back and starting kick returner Devrin Young, who suffered “a couple of broken ribs” on Saturday, and had just three touches for 10 total yards, will miss some game action, but Jones didn’t specify just how long the Knoxville native will be sidelined.
For the first time all season, though, Young’s name was removed from the starting kick returner spot on the Vols’ depth chart, which is updated weekly and released every Monday afternoon.
“Devrin Young, right now, I don’t really have a true timetable,” Jones said. “It’ll probably be a couple weeks, two to three weeks. We’ll see how his body heals and progresses.”
Berry nice: With Young’s health status currently in question, defensive back Evan Berry, who’s been listed on the depth chart as a starting kick returner all season, is an immediate replacement candidate, beginning this Saturday versus the Rebels.
However, Berry, who spent time working with the running backs during last Tuesday’s practice portion made available to the media, will continue to float around different position groups as Jones and company look to implement the versatile freshman in as many ways possible.
“We’ll continue to look at him at running back, and again, it’s trying to find a home for him,” Jones said. “He does have some unique skills to him. But it’s really putting him in a position where he can work off those skills and get better, so he’ll split time in practice playing at safety and running back.”
Still, though, it’s Berry’s role as a kick returner that could land the 199-pound freshman in the end zone sooner rather than later.
At least that’s what A.J. Johnson believes after watching Berry rip off a 68-yard runback on Saturday that nearly ended in the checkerboards.
“I was real excited for him, and I was on the sidelines going crazy,” the senior linebacker said Monday. “I thought he was about to take it back.
“Y’all are going to see more of that soon. He’s going to get him a couple touchdowns.”
Climbing Jacob’s ladder: Back in full pads on gameday for the first time since the season-opener versus Utah State, left tackle Jacob Gilliam appeared ready to pull off a minor miracle.
The redshirt senior, who tore his ACL on Aug. 31 but didn’t opt for season-ending surgery, was dressed out completely for Saturday’s 45-10 win over Chattanooga, but ultimately, Gilliam never entered the game after not being deemed “game ready.”
Jones, however, isn’t completely shutting the door on the left tackle’s late-season return — a comeback that could prove monumental considering the abundant struggles of UT’s current offensive line.
“I believe, at some point, Jacob Gilliam will have an opportunity to impact a game, I do,” Jones said. “I don’t know when that opportunity will present itself, but I do believe he will play again at the University of Tennessee. I do believe that.
“It is just getting his body in shape. So it is getting his fundamentals back, his technique back. He is a full go in practice. He is in every single period.”
