Vols Football: How Injuries Have Changed the Season

The Vols have been bitten by the injury bug in a big way this season. Many key players have gone down for significant chunks of time this year, which has really altered the season. PHOTO: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

All football teams, collegiate or professional, get nicked up throughout the season. It’s nearly impossible to go through an entire season without sustaining some injuries to key contributors along the way. But the Tennessee Volunteers seem to have been bitten even more by the injury bug this year.

Several starters, important contributors, and potential impact players have missed time or the entire season for the Vols so far this season, and those injuries have really hurt the potential for this team. Especially considering how thin on depth the whole team already was.

The one position that seemed to have the most depth was at wide receiver, but they’ve sustained some of the heaviest losses. So far five Vols have suffered season-ending injuries, and a sixth (Devrin Young) is possible.

Here is a list of most of the players who have missed at least a game or significant time for the Vols this season (disclaimer: Jordan Williams hasn’t actually missed a full game, but he’s been banged up several times this season, which has limited his productivity).

• LB Dillon Bates – played in 4 games, 6 total tackles
• C Mack Crowder – started 10 games at center
• OT Jacob Gilliam – started 5 games, played in 6 at both tackle positions
• RB Marlin Lane – started 4 games, played in 10, 61 carries for 228 yards, TD, 8 receptions for 53 yards
• DT/OT Charles Mosley – missed entire season with broken leg
• WR Marquez North – started 10 games, 30 receptions for 320 yards, 4 TD
• WR Von Pearson – started 6 games, played in 9, 28 receptions for 306 yards, 4 TD, 5 rushes for 19 yards
• DT Trevarris Saulsberry – played in 4 games, 5 total tackles
• RB Derrell Scott – played in 2 games, 11 carries for 40 yards
• WR Josh Smith – started one game, played in 3, 10 receptions for 135 yards, TD
• DT Jordan Williams – started all 11 games, 24 total tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, QB hurry
• TE Ethan Wolf – started 9 games, played in 10, 21 receptions for 203 yards
• QB Justin Worley – started 7 games, 1,579 passing yards, 12 TD, 8 INT, 3 rushing TD
• RB Devrin Young – played in 6 games, 6 carries for 24 yards, 4 catches for 31 yards, 13 kickoff returns for 21.5 average

That’s 14 players who have missed at least a game or have been banged up enough to limit their production at times. That’s nearly 20% of the 85 scholarship players the Vols have on their roster.

Dillon Bates, Charles Mosley, Marquez North, Josh Smith, and Justin Worley have all sustained injuries that ended their seasons prematurely. Worley and North were starters for most of the season before their injuries sidelined them, and Smith was looking as though he was going to have a breakout season before a high ankle sprain ended his sophomore year during the Oklahoma game.

Bates would likely be starting over Jakob Johnson at middle linebacker right now if he were healthy. But his season-ending torn labrum prevented that, and his injury further depleted an already thin linebacking corps. Mosley might not have played this season, but we’ll never know since a car wreck in the offseason broke his leg and sidelined him for the year.

Derrell Scott and Devrin Young would be able to provide some much needed depth at running back right now for the Vols, but Young has been out since the Florida game and Derrell Scott has been banged up all season and only has 11 carries in 2 game appearances.

The offensive line couldn’t afford any injuries this season, but the football gods don’t care one bit. Jacob Gilliam went down in the first game against Utah State with a torn ACL, but he’s proven his toughness by coming back and starting at right tackle and is expected to remain there for the remainder of the season. Mack Crowder went down against Kentucky, and his presence was missed against Missouri as the Vols allowed 6 sacks.

But really, the two positions that have been decimated by injuries have been the skill positions on offense. Two receivers, North and Smith, are out for the remainder of the year, and Von Pearson missed a decent chunk of time and was hobbled by a high ankle sprain for most of the season. It took the bye week before the Kentucky game for him to really get healthy again. And the running backs have suffered from a lack of depth, as Marlin Lane has also been banged up, leaving Jalen Hurd as the only real viable option at the position.

The Vols are likely still going to make a bowl game this season, and that was the ultimate goal heading into the year. But injuries have deprived Tennessee from an even better season, as the potential of some young contributors has been cut short due to injuries, and other players have been too banged up to consistently play at their best.

Just think where the Vols would be without that gigantic 32-man recruiting class they brought in before this season.