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Tennessee football: 10 major revelations from Vols start of spring practice

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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10. Defensive lineman Emmit Gooden will be limited after an ACL tear last August.

This isn’t much of a surprise. That’s why it’s No. 10 on the list. Tennessee football took a huge hit last year when Emmit Gooden suffered a season-ending ACL injury during fall camp. Gooden was the only returning defensive lineman for the Vols who had any real experience after the departures of Alexis Johnson, Kyle Phillips and Shy Tuttle.

With Gooden’s loss, UT struggled severely early in the season at defensive tackle. Things got better for them as time went on, but it took a while. The good news for them, however, is the fact that they now have Gooden back. He was always expected to be a key part of the defensive line heading into this year, so him being back isn’t the story.

The story, despite not being too surprising, is that Jeremy Pruitt confirmed he would be limited in the spring. Now, you expect that after an ACL tear, but one slight concern for the Vols is the fact that he suffered his tear in August. And there were no reports of that surrounding Trevon Flowers, who suffered a season-ending injury with a broken leg back in October.

Either way, Rocky Top has lots of veterans on the defensive line, and Gooden is one of them. His limited reps in spring ball, though, will make it harder for him to reclaim the role he had before he got hurt last year. That’s what makes this bit of news somewhat interesting.

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