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Tennessee Vols Safety LaDarrell McNeil Expected to be Back Next Week

By Caleb Calhoun

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Tennessee Vols Safety LaDarrell McNeil is expected to be back from his injury a week from Saturday according to Volunteers Football Head Coach Butch Jones.

Just one week ago, there was fear the LaDarrell McNeil could be done for the season.

But now, he could be back this month.

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McNeil is expected to be back a week from Saturday, when the Vols play the Western Carolina Catamounts, according to Tennessee Volunteers Football Head Coach Butch Jones in his Wednesday press conference.

McNeil, a senior, was expected to be the starter at strong safety for the year before going down with an injury in the preseason. His return will be welcome news for the secondary.

Here is a quote from Jones in the Wednesday press conference transcript:

"“LaDarrell McNeil, we fully expect him to be ready for next week’s game. I’ll tell you what, I’ve been so proud of him, and I know his family is excited and he’s excited. So we expect to have him back next week and he has been in practice in a non-contact role, so excited about that.”"

The Vols were without both of their strong safeties in the depth chart last Saturday against the Bowling Green Falcons, as after McNeil, Todd Kelly had a limited role due to an illness he was fighting all of last week.

It showed in the game as well. Evan Berry, a natural free safety, had to fill in at the position, and he was a big reason for the huge issues in the secondary.

Kelly being back this week should help out with that a lot, and the return of McNeil next week will be huge. Then Berry can move over to back up Brian Randolph, and the Vols can run a full rotation at safety if they need to.

This is great news for a senior who has given so much to the program and always been a team guy. McNeil is everything you want in a player. And Vol Nation will be very excited to have him back.

Next: Tennessee vs. Oklahoma: Five Keys for Both Teams

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