Vols Football: Left Tackle Jacob Gilliam Out For The Season
By Zach Ragan
Butch Jones announced on Tuesday that starting left tackle Jacob Gilliam will miss the remainder of the 2014 season with a torn ACL.
JONES: Jacob Gilliam will be out for the year. He tore his ACL and it's very unfortunate.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 2, 2014
Gilliam sustained the injury in Tennessee’s win against Utah State on Sunday night. He was replaced in the game by redshirt freshman Brett Kendrick.
The injury is a tough break for Gilliam who is a redshirt senior that earned a scholarship in the spring.
Jones said on Tuesday that Kendrick, along with JuCo transfer Dontavius Blair and true freshman Coleman Thomas, would all be given a chance to earn playing time at the position.
Blair was expected to be Tennessee’s starting left tackle in 2014, but a poor training camp led to him being listed as the backup to Gilliam. Despite being listed as the backup, it was Kendrick that saw action in the wake of Gilliam’s injury.
The Vols can’t really afford to lose any depth along their already young offensive line. Unfortunately for Tennessee, they don’t really have a choice in the matter.
I’d expect to Kendrick to be the favorite to start at left tackle against Arkansas State, but Blair should get every opportunity to win the job that at one time was assumed to be his to lose.