Tennessee Football: Injured Vols Who Will Be Missed the Most This Spring

This is an important spring for the Tennessee Volunteers, as a lot of hype surrounds the football program entering the 2016 season.

That's why it's vital that the Vols stay healthy.

Well, the good news is they're not quite as banged up as they were last spring, but they aren't exactly healthy, either. Coach Butch Jones noted at his introductory spring press conference that 11 Vols won't be available throughout March and April drills.

Some of those players, such as junior All-SEC defensive end Derek Barnett and junior star guard Jashon Robertson, aren't such big deals. UT knows what it has with those guys, and they will be written in ink into the starting lineup once they're healthy.

Neither is expected to miss any time once fall drills start.

But because of injuries along the offensive front, for instance, the Vols will try some different looks and position shuffling this spring. 

"Starting today, we'll start that process of evaluating all positions and rotating people at all positions," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel's Dustin Dopirak. "We've always said we're going to play the five best guys. There might be somebody on the right side that goes over and gets reps at the left side, etc."

Backups getting extended looks could wind up being a positive depth-wise in the long run in the event of injuries. For instance, as many injuries as UT faced last year, players such as Shy Tuttle and Dylan Wiesman got long looks last spring and benefited from them.

For other players who are hurt, however, there's no benefit at all. Some Vols are at crucial stages of their development. Others were going to be relied upon, and their absence will hurt the team considerably.

Tennessee needs them all to come back healthy and ready to contribute to a season that could be special. Jones noted that he believes everybody will be ready to go for the fall, so that's good news. But how much will the absences hurt UT this spring?

Let's take a look at the injuries that the Vols will feel the most.

Evan Berry, Junior Safety/Specialist

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Everybody knows what Evan Berry can do as a kick returner. After an All-American season in 2015, the younger brother of Eric Berry is perhaps the best specialist in the country.

But he wants to be more of an impact player on defense.

This was going to be a pivotal spring for the junior from Fairburn, Georgia, to break into the starting lineup at safety with Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil out of eligibility. Todd Kelly Jr. has a strong chance to slide into one of those spots, but the other one is open.

Instead of battling for the job, Berry is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

That opens the door for Rashaan Gaulden to step into the lineup after missing all of last season recovering from a broken foot suffered in fall practice. Berry isn't expected to miss any time that late, but this was a crucial time for his development, and now, he's not going to be able to go.

Safety is a deep, talented position for the Vols with Kelly, Gaulden, Berry, Stephen Griffin and Micah Abernathy all back there. Nigel Warrior and Tyler Byrd are elite prospects who could both play on the back end too, if needed.

So, Berry's injury is not only a negative for the Vols but for him too. He could fall behind several players and wind up being a backup yet again.

The Vols need a player with Berry's ability to have the light come on in a hurry. His skill set could be huge for Tennessee's speed-based defense.

Speed and talent aren't issues for Berry, who shows his elite ability on kickoff returns. It's just a matter of getting into the flow of the game and becoming more confident within the framework of the defense. Missing new coordinator Bob Shoop's first spring is going to put Berry behind.

He'll just have to study, rehab and be ready to compete in a crowded backfield come fall.

Chance Hall, Sophomore Offensive Tackle

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Once Chance Hall entered the lineup against Georgia last year following the injury of Brett Kendrick, the Vols were confident in his abilities.

It didn't take him long to prove how awesome of a prospect he could be.

The 6'4", 318-pound right tackle was a natural, which is even more remarkable considering he missed his entire senior year of high school in Roanoke, Virginia, after tearing his Achilles tendon. He wasn't really expected to be a major contributor right away in Knoxville. But he had other ideas.

Rather than be a liability like most first-year players who are thrust into the lineup on the offensive line in the rugged SEC, Hall made the Vols better.

Now, he's out for the spring for an injury that Jones didn't specify.

Hall has proved before that he can step in and play when he's cold, but it isn't good for him to miss any time at this stage. Strength is vitally important for an offensive lineman, and Hall already has proved he has that part of his game down.

But reps with teammates are equally important. Entering into such a crucial season, missing Hall and Robertson all spring isn't great for chemistry. The more a unit plays together, the better it gets. And UT will be missing two starting cogs on that unit.

The Vols still should be able to overcome this unfortunate circumstance. Nobody is overly concerned about Hall's longtime health, and his absence will pave the way for projected left tackle starter Drew Richmond to anchor one side and veteran Kendrick to try to win back the job on the other.

Those important reps will be important to building depth on the exterior, where the Vols don't have a ton of bodies, despite bringing in three freshmen in Ryan Johnson, Nathan Niehaus and Marcus Tatum this summer.

Hall's job isn't in jeopardy, but it would have been nice to see him not only perform this spring but begin to dominate. Instead, he'll have to watch from the sideline.

Josh Malone, Junior Wide Receiver

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Last year, Josh Malone was Tennessee's most productive receiver as a sophomore.

Before you anoint him as having arrived, remember just how disappointing the Vols corps has been over the past three seasons. The 6'3", 197-pound rising junior from Gallatin, Tennessee, is improving every year, but he has the ability to be a superstar and isn't there yet.

Malone needs to learn to lead, to play hard on every down and to be more aggressive with the ball in the air.

But he won't get to work on any of those skills or intangibles this spring. Instead, he's battling an unspecified injury. That's disappointing for UT, and it's also uncharacteristic of Malone. Last year, in an injury-riddled campaign for passing game coordinator Zach Azzanni's receivers, Malone was consistently healthy.

Jones talked to 247Sports' Wes Rucker after Malone's huge Kentucky game in 2015 about his budding go-to receiver:

"

Just look at the game that Josh Malone had. …Finally getting the deep ball going with Josh Malone (was good). I thought Josh went up and really played the ball well in the air and then finished the run after the catch. That’s just being rewarded for your hard work. Josh Malone comes out every single day and works exceptionally hard. When we talk about the volume of repetitions that we're asking of our wide receivers, Josh has been up there with the repetitions all year. He hasn't missed one rep of practice all year. He’s there every day.

"

From strong stretches to disappearing for swaths, Malone's first two years in Knoxville have been equal parts exciting and frustrating. But with UT desperately needing a playmaker who can stretch the field and be a leader in the passing game, Malone was a prime candidate.

He still may wind up being that guy, but missing reps this spring won't help. The Vols need Malone healthy and shining as a huge target for Joshua Dobbs.

He'll be back this summer and have to make up for lost time.

Kyle Phillips, Sophomore Defensive End

Credit: 247Sports

After blowing up the U.S. Army All-American Game and committing to Tennessee during the event and arriving at school mid-term the week after, Kyle Phillips was expected to be a breakout player in 2015.

That never materialized for the Nashville defensive end, who worked his way into the lineup, shuffled some inside as a defensive tackle with UT loaded on the edges and then suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season.

A shoulder surgery's lingering effects still has Phillips missing time, as he won't be back for the spring.

That's bad news for a sophomore who really needs to find his rhythm, to solidify a positional home and to live up to his huge abilities under new coordinator Shoop. If he can get healthy, it's an ideal situation for the 6'4", 260-pound lineman.

Shoop recruited him heavily while he was at Vanderbilt and Penn State, and Phillips knows him well. After a freshman season where he was unhappy at times with the way he was used, Phillips wants to stay on the outside and thrive there.

The biggest problem for him is that the Vols already have Barnett, Corey Vereen, LaTroy Lewis, Darrell Taylor and Austin Smith at the position. That's not even including the nation's top-ranked JUCO prospect Jonathan Kongbo, who will arrive this summer.

Staying at tackle would be huge for Phillips and the Vols, who are thin at the position.

All he should do is take one look at the huge paycheck that former Vol defensive end-turned-tackle Malik Jackson just signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, per 9News' Mike Klis, to see that slimmer, pass-rushing, athletic tackles are the wave of the future.

Regardless of where he plays, Phillips just needs to play somewhere. He's far too talented to stand on the sideline. UT needs him to start playing up to his potential, and when he does, Shoop is the ideal coordinator to put him in the proper position to make plays.

But he can't do that until he's healthy.

Shy Tuttle, Sophomore Defensive Tackle

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It's going to be hard for Shoop to field a full defensive line unit this spring, given all the injuries.

While the Vols know what they're going to get from star end Barnett, they're really missing important opportunities to get players such as Phillips, Andrew Butcher and Kendal Vickers key reps. All those guys are hurt too.

But perhaps the most frustrating injury on that side of the ball is that of sophomore defensive tackle Shy Tuttle. The big North Carolina defender was lost for the year in the Georgia game after center Brandon Kublanow's dirty hit on him caused him to tear ligaments and break his fibula.

Defensive tackle is UT's most shallow position, especially since JUCO transfer Alexis Johnson is suspended from the team following an alleged incident where he was charged with assault and recently pleaded not guilty.

Not only that, but Tuttle is arguably Tennessee's best player at the position and has the ability to team with Kahlil McKenzie to be a disruptive force on the interior in Knoxville. That is, if he can ever get back on the field at full strength.

Jones told reporters on Monday, according to Dopirak:

"

Shy continues to progress. He just had the screws taken out from the second surgery on his right foot. So he'll continue to progress. It's really day by day for him and how the body heals. We're hoping by maybe early July, late June. That's the date we are targeting. We'll know probably every two or three weeks on how he's progressing.

"

The bottom line is that a really good player suffered a serious injury, and it's already been a long recovery process that will be even longer. There are no guarantees that Tuttle will return and immediately be the kind of player he was trending toward being last year.

But a late June, early July time frame is much more optimistic than it has been, which means that Tuttle is progressing nicely. A return during that window would give him nearly two full months before the beginning of the season to get ready to go right away.

The Vols are not only going to need Tuttle in 2016, but they're going to need him to be the force he's capable of being. So, a full recovery is important. Unfortunately for UT, he won't get to start that on-field recovery this spring.

All quotes and information gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information gathered from 247Sports unless otherwise noted. All stats gathered at UTSports.com unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.