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Tennessee Vols morning report: Trey Smith cleared, Daniel Bituli out

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Vols lineman Trey Smith being cleared to play and linebacker Daniel Bituli being out lead our Volunteers news for Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019.

After a splash opening Saturday, college football is back today for another soft opening, which includes four games featuring a top 25 team, including defending national champion Clemson Tigers. While the Tennessee Vols don’t play until Saturday, this still makes for an exciting time.

Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with more coverage of UT football this year, including one player being cleared to go after an injury and another one being listed as out this weekend. Then we have statements from Jeremy Pruitt about the week.

Football isn’t the only news, though. There’s another soccer game happening tonight, which we’re going to cover. This time a week from now, all the fall sports will be in full swing. So let’s get started with the football news.

Trey Smith cleared to play – UTSports

Tennessee Vols football offensive lineman Trey Smith has been cleared to play. The junior missed the end of last season due to the return of blood clots and had his status in limbo all offseason. His return was confirmed by the university and Jeremy Pruitt.

"Smith has started all 19 games he has played in during his career. He earned All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman honors in 2017 when he became the first Vol true freshman to start at left tackle in over 30 years. He collected FWAA Freshman All-America honors in 2017 and nabbed preseason All-SEC First Team accolades in 2018."

Daniel Bituli to miss opener – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com

While getting back Trey Smith, the Tennessee Vols will lose another key player. Senior inside linebacker Daniel Bituli will be out for the Georgia State Panthers game. Jeremy Pruitt said last week they had to clean up a minor injury on him, so it made since to save him for a week.

"Bituli is Tennessee’s leading active career tackler with 178 in 33 career games and led the Volunteers in tackles for the last two seasons. He made 79 stops in 2018, including 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack and deflected a pass."

Jeremy Pruitt speaks at SEC teleconference – Grant Ramey, GoVols247

Ahead of the Tennessee football opener against the Georgia State Panthers, head coach Jeremy Pruitt spoke with the media Wednesday at an SEC teleconference. Here’s a bit of what he said about the game.

"“We got lots of guys who are excited about it. Georgia State, we’re playing a very experienced football team. Coach (Shawn) Elliott, I’ve coached against him several times when he was at South Carolina. A guy that does a fantastic job. When he was the O-line coach, his guys were tough, hard-nosed, played smart, played together. And you can see that in his team at Georgia State. Very well coached.”"

Soccer to take on Rutgers – Ryan Schumpert, The Daily Beacon

At 2-0, the No. 11 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols soccer team will have their first road test of the year Thursday night. Brian Pensky’s team will face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, N.J. at 7 p.m.

"Rutgers will come into Thursday’s matchup 2-0 on the season. Surprisingly, Tennessee and Rutgers already share a common opponent on the season as both teams defeated Fordham. Rutgers defeated the Rams 5-0 while Tennessee took care of business winning 3-1."

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