Tennessee football: Addition of BYU transfer LB shows where Josh Heupel’s focus is

It’s no secret that Tennessee football needs to upgrade significantly on defense. One area of focus for Josh Heupel and the Vols has been at linebacker. UT added two four-stars in Arion Carter and Jalen Smith in the class along with three-star Jeremiah Telander.

Well, despite two of the three main rotational players at linebacker from this past year almost certain to be back in Aaron Beasley and Juwan Mitchell, Heupel didn’t settle. He went out and added a veteran in BYU Cougars transfer linebacker Keenan Pili.

A fifth-year junior, Pili has two years of eligibility left at most, likely just one. The Provo, Utah, native committed to BYU in 2016 and then went on a Mormon mission trip in 2017 and 2018 before returning in 2019. He revealed his transfer to Tennessee football on Twitter Wednesday.

The sticking point for Pili’s eligibility is medical. He redshirted in 2016, and the 2020 COVID season didn’t count against eligibility. However, he then suffered a season-ending injury three games into 2021, so he could potentially take a second medical redshirt.

That would mean only 2019 and 2022 counted against his eligibility, so he could have two years left. Either way, he’s a proven linebacker with plenty of experience, and it’s pretty clear that Heupel has been emphasizing more depth there.

Pili, who stands at 6’3″ 237 pounds, had four tackles for a loss, a sack, a pass deflection, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 62 total tackles, 29 of which were solo. That was coming back from an ACL injury in 2021. He was All-Independent in 2020.

Simply put, Pili can ball. With Jeremy Banks likely gone after taking part in Senior Day festivities a month ago, Pili could step in and start immediately. The graduate of Timpview High School is clearly a talented player and gives Tim Banks lots of versatility.

Perhaps the reason Heupel was so focused on adding a veteran linebacker was what he saw from Tennessee football’s defense at the South Carolina Gamecocks without Jeremy Banks. The blitz packages that Tim Banks had been running all year weren’t there, and it seemed as if they just felt limited without their main linebacker.

Now, though, Heupel has two guys with elite potential, one guy with proven talent and a fourth player for depth. Also, Mitchell should be much healthier next year, as he spent this year still getting back into a rhythm after his own season-ending injury.

Taking all this into account, Pili is a huge pickup, and it really shows where Heupel’s mind is at. He knows he just needs the right quarterback for his offense, but it’s clear Tennessee football needs better personnel at most spots on defense, and Pili provides that immediately.