Advertisement

Tennessee loses another OL to a season-ending bicep injury

Graham Watson
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 25: Head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 25: Head coach Butch Jones of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Tennessee has lost another member of its offensive line to a season-ending injury.

Coach Butch Jones said Thursday that redshirt sophomore reserve guard Austin Sanders tore his bicep and would miss the remainder of the year.

“It’s a biceps tendon and it just happened with body position,” Jones said Thursday. “He extended his arm, he was in a contact phase of a block and extended his arm. His bicep, his tendon went. He’s scheduled to have surgery here very shortly. We’ll monitor his academics. We love Austin and know that he’ll do a great job in recovery, but we’ve lost him for the year.”

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today!]

Last week, Jones announced that fifth-year senior guard Marcus Jackson would miss the season with the same injury. Sophomore guard Jashon Robertson, also a starter, just returned to practice from an ankle injury. The Vols have three starters remaining on the line, but need to fill holes at guard and center.

Jones is confident the Vols have enough depth to overcome the injuries.

"The good thing, the positive thing going in is that we've recruited to have some depth at the offensive line position, but it does set us back. Obviously it's another individual's opportunity for some of the young freshmen to step up, in terms of Chance Hall and Jack Jones," Jones said. "Again, you never recover but that is a position where we have built some depth there. It's next man in. It's another person's opportunity. I think you see around the country, not just in the college ranks but in professional ranks, injuries are occurring every day. It's very, very unfortunate but it's part of the game as well."

For more Tennessee news, visit VolQuest.com.

-----

Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook