Austin Pope’s injury hurts the Tennessee football Volunteers more than Emmit Gooden’s dismissal.
There’s no denying that the news surrounding Austin Pope and Emmit Gooden last week were devastating for Tennessee football. It puts a damper on the excitement behind the depth surrounding the Vols heading into the season.
Beyond that, Gooden’s case is obviously disturbing given the details surrounding his arrest, but we won’t go into that. What is clear is that the massive amount of excitement behind his return after a season-ending injury in 2019 makes this an even bigger letdown.
However, while Gooden’s dismissal was a major blow, Pope’s injury is worse for Tennessee football. It’s not just worse because of the unjust nature of Pope potentially missing time where Gooden brought the issues on himself. The situation at tight end and defensive line also just happen to be very different.
Heading into this year, Pope was the only proven tight end. He started alongside Dominick Wood-Anderson last year and, at 6’4″ 235 pounds, emerged as an elite run-blocker at the position. His willingness to play that role in Jim Chaney’s system made him the ultimate team player.
With Wood-Anderson gone, Chaney and Jeremy Pruitt were looking to newly converted tight end Jordan Allen and backup Princeton Fant to provide depth. Now, with Pope’s tweet last week revealing he had back surgery due to a herniated disc, those two could end up being the starters, even though Allen hasn’t played one snap for the Vols at that position.
When it comes to Gooden, it’s a different situation altogether. He missed all of 2019 due to an injury, and his absence was noticeable in the Vols’ season-opening losses to the Georgia State Panthers and BYU Cougars. After all, he was the only returning lineman with any experience, as Kyle Phillips, Alexis Johnson and Shy Tuttle had all graduated.
However, over time, a cohesion began to develop among Aubrey Solomon, Greg Emerson, Darel Middleton and Kurrott Garland in the middle and then Matthew Butler, Ja’Quain Blakely and LaTrell Bumphus on the edge. That group finished in the top 30 in the nation and fourth in the SEC in rush yards per carry allowed with just over three and a half, and all of them are back.
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Now, Middleton has his own legal issues, but Pruitt said earlier in the year that his would be handled internally. When you add in the fact that Savion Williams is another experienced player now in the middle, Tennessee football is still deep at defensive tackle even without Gooden.
As a result, Gooden is much more replaceable than Pope is. The only good news for the Vols is the fact that it’s not clear just how long Pope will be out, if he’s out at all. Without the redshirt senior, though, they are in trouble.
Tight end is a crucial part of UT’s offense under Chaney. The Vols need to have multiple players who can play the position. They have lots of young, rising stars in Jacob Warren, Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown, but none of them have any experience yet. This was the year for them to gain some while Pope led the way.
Given what has happened, though, Tennessee football will likely need one of them to emerge as a key reserve tight end while Fant and Allen lead the way. Rocky Top has already proven itself without Gooden, as the defensive line got better down the stretch of last year. Proving themselves without Pope could be much more difficult.