Tennessee Football: Ranking the Volunteers' 5 Most Impactful Injuries in 2015
Tennessee's football season still holds plenty of promise despite the Volunteers currently sitting at 3-4, but coach Butch Jones' team has been forced to run an early-season gauntlet short-handed.
The Vols have dealt with too many injuries to count, as vital players are constantly sitting for anywhere from a single game to the entire season. The Vols have been especially hammered with injuries on both lines as well as in the wide receiving corps. Dustin Dopirak of the Knoxville News Sentinel tweeted:
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Just to give you an idea of how devastating the injuries have been this year, take into consideration that the loss of starting senior offensive guard Marcus Jackson and the injury to starting right tackle Brett Kendrick didn't make the list.
WNML radio's Jimmy Hyams reported Monday that Kendrick is out for the year after suffering injuries to his knee and elbow. However, Jones said at his weekly media day (per GoVols247's Ryan Callahan) that he is hopeful to get Kendrick back.
Current injuries such as the ones to starting guard Jashon Robertson, senior safety LaDarrell McNeil and the receiving trio of Jason Croom, Johnathon Johnson and Preston Williams aren't present, either.
All of those players have missed or are missing significant playing time.
"I think our football team continues to grow and get better and better and better," Jones told local reporters before the Alabama game, per AL.com's Matt Zenitz. "We've been behind a little bit in terms of injuries, but we've had individuals step up game in and game out."
Let's take a look at the top five injuries that have wreaked the most havoc on UT so far this season.
5. Marquez North, Junior, Wide Receiver
Tennessee's go-to target, who is as impressive a physical specimen at the position as there is in the entire SEC, has been reduced to a spectator role for much of the season after dealing with myriad injuries.
The 6'3", 229-pound junior hurt his knee in the spring, leading to Twitter and message board rumors that he was lost for the season. Though that wound up not being true, his production certainly has faltered.
Once he got back on the field, North was victimized by an errant Joshua Dobbs throw that left him vulnerable and exposed over the middle. He was hit in the back, and the Alabama game was his first action since being hurt against the Gators.
UT passing game coordinator Zach Azzanni said this week that he feels for North's plight, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel's Grant Ramey:
"I feel for Marquez. He's a very prideful young man. He took quite a shot at Florida and it kind of messed with him a little bit, injury wise. He went out there (against Alabama) with a wince on his face that whole second half. He gave us whatever he could to give Josh Smith a blow on the sideline, to go in there and give us a couple (plays). That's the things people don't see.
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So far, North has just five catches for 46 yards on the season. Last year, he was beginning to show breakout signs with 30 grabs for 320 yards and four touchdowns before tearing his labrum and needing season-ending surgery.
He missed the entire spring, and he's never been the same.
Along with the injuries to Croom, Johnson, Williams and several other receivers, North's extensive missed time has been a huge obstacle for UT to overcome. The Vols need him to return to go-to status. If he doesn't get healthy and start showing what he can do, his once-sure NFL promise will never equal production.
4. Justin Martin, Sophomore, Cornerback
For as much excitement as Martin created during recruiting when he chose the Vols over LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Texas A&M and virtually everybody else in the Southeast, it wasn't a surprise when he looked solid in fall drills.
But the Vols didn't realize just how much they missed the lanky sophomore until his first extensive action of the season that came this past weekend at Alabama.
Martin finished with seven tackles and swatted away a two-point conversion attempt from the Tide, looking very strong in the process. After getting hurt midway through camp, Martin was way behind once the season started.
The Vols figured they were set enough at cornerback to move Martin along slowly, but that was before sophomore Emmanuel Moseley shockingly regressed in his second season. Martin really came on strongly in the bye week and started for UT against the Tide.
He made the most of his chance to play on the big stage, and it appears that's his spot opposite Cameron Sutton for the near future. Danny Parker of Inside Tennessee tweeted:
Would Martin have been ready to start at the beginning of the season? That's a tall order for a player who's never played on this level. But once Moseley started struggling, it would have been nice to have the option of inserting Martin. His injury woes cost UT that opportunity.
3. Shy Tuttle, Freshman, Defensive Tackle
There are several places where injuries don't stick out as much, but in the trenches, in a league like the SEC, they're glaring.
That's especially the case at defensive tackle for the Vols, who've struggled to maintain a solid rotation the past two seasons.
Last year, UT played much of the season with a three-man rotation, with the occasional fourth man getting a few snaps here and there. This year, that number was all the way up to five, and the true freshmen duo of Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie were really beginning to come into their own.
That's when a questionable block by Georgia center Brandon Kublanow caused Tuttle to land awkwardly on his leg, breaking his fibula and tearing ligaments in his ankle. The Tennessee Fan Base website tweeted a video of the play:
Tennessee responded to the injury with its best game all season from the defensive line, but that was coming off a bye week. The real impact of the Tuttle injury may appear throughout the remainder of the year. The Vols are currently rotating only McKenzie, Kendal Vickers, Danny O'Brien and Owen Williams at the position.
The Vols went with a smaller, quicker defensive front at times against Alabama, and it paid dividends. That may be something we see moving forward to alleviate some of the pressure from that slim depth chart. If coordinator John Jancek employs some rabbit packages, it can minimize snap impact.
How UT manages the rotation for the rest of the year will go a long way in determining the defense's success.
2. Curt Maggitt, Senior, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
Most people would say the loss of emotional senior leader and sack machine Maggitt would be the biggest loss Tennessee has endured so far.
A case certainly can be made for it. The 6'4", 252-pound hybrid edge-rusher finally returned to full strength toward the middle of last year after missing more than a season after suffering torn knee ligaments. All he did was finish 2014 with 48 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks.
However, Maggitt suffered a hip injury against Oklahoma, and the setback will sideline him at least six to 10 weeks. It could cost him virtually his entire season.
With Maggitt out, opponents were able to focus most of their attention to fellow defensive end Derek Barnett, and that affected his productivity. However, against the Crimson Tide, Corey Vereen was a force to be reckoned with in Maggitt's old spot, so UT may be adapting to life without him.
Prior to the five-sack breakout against Bama, Maggitt's absence was obvious in the numbers.
Even though UT enjoyed a strong game against the Tide, there's no denying the impact of the senior from West Palm Beach, Florida.
It goes much further than on-field production, too. While Maggitt is still traveling some with the team, he's not out there on the field, where he's an emotional force around which his teammates rally.
Tennessee hopes Maggitt is back for the final few weeks of the year. That would be a major defensive boost for the stretch run. Until then, the Vols have to fill a huge void left by their leader.
1. Rashaan Gaulden, Sophomore, Nickelback
Other than perhaps middle linebacker, there may not be a more important position in Jancek's defense than the nickelback spot.
That player has to line up on the exterior of the defense, cover the slot, be physical enough to come up and help in the run game, and speedy enough to neutralize opposing receivers. It's a vital position that needs to help push plays to the middle of the field, and it's not easy to play.
Gaulden was solidifying that spot when he fractured a foot in fall camp, costing him the entire season before it even started. The News Sentinel's Ramey tweeted:
A season after senior and current New England Patriots rookie Justin Coleman grew into the nickelback spot and was a strength on that defense, Gaulden looked like he had an even higher ceiling.
Then it was over. He got tripped up on a punt return drill and broke his foot in a freak injury. A few days prior to that, Jancek talked about how strong Gaulden was looking. He told GoVols247's Wes Rucker:
"I trust Rashaan, yeah. When you say 'trust,' I mean, I know that he cares, he works hard, you know? Is he gonna make mistakes? Yeah, he’s gonna make mistakes. That means I don’t trust him. I trust Rashaan because of what he stands for as a young man, and the things that he’s been able to do in a short amount of time. Yeah, I do trust Rashaan.
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Tennessee has struggled to replace him. Junior Malik Foreman hasn't been terrible, but he's been burned several times. He also isn't as physical as the 6'1", 184-pound Gaulden was showing in practice, as evidenced by him winning the defensive Most Improved Player award in the spring.
UT's secondary has consistently been the team's biggest weakness throughout the year, and if Gaulden and Martin were healthy all year, it may not be. It's easy to look at hypotheticals in hindsight, but the bottom line is Gaudlen was a surefire starter, and all of a sudden UT had to account for life without him.
That's been a familiar refrain for the Vols all year long.
All stats gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
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