Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili out for season with ACL injury

Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Vols' 23-17 overtime win over Florida, coach Josh Heupel said.

It's also the end to Pili's UT career. The BYU transfer is a 26-year-old and seventh-year senior who already utilized a medical redshirt in two previous seasons.

“Keenan had an injury, ACL, and will be done for the season," Heupel said. "There's nobody that represents Tennessee better than him. He’s a great leader and will continue to be that inside of our building. Just heartbroken for him and his family. (He is) a guy that does absolutely everything right and a special, special player, but a special person too. He’s got a great future."

Pili is a key cog in the Vols' elite defense. He is a team captain and Tennessee's co-leader in tackles with 29. He also wears the in-helmet radio device to receive messages directly from defensive coordinator Tim Banks while he's in the game.

The Vols rank No. 2 in total defense (249.8 ypg allowed) and No. 4 in scoring defense (10.7 ppg allowed).

No. 10 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) must adjust quickly before playing No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Neyland Stadium.

Pili spent the past two years at Tennessee after transferring from BYU, but he played only seven games due to injury. He missed 12 games in the 2023 season after suffering a triceps injury in the opener. And this knee injury ended his 2024 season at the midpoint.

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Who replaces Keenan Pili for Tennessee defense?

Sophomore Arion Carter is UT's starter at weakside linebacker. Sophomore Jeremiah Telander will be Pili's primary replacement at middle linebacker.

Heupel said either Carter or Telander will wear the in-helmet communication device.

“(We) haven’t finalized that," Heupel said. "It could be Arion. It could be Telander."

Telander has 18 tackles and one fumble recovery this season. He has played 163 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus , almost as many as Pili's 182 snaps.

Carter leads all Tennessee linebackers with 231 defensive snaps. He has 27 tackles, including a team-leading 4.5 tackles-for-loss, and one interception.

Junior Kalib Perry and redshirt freshman Jalen Smith also should see increased playing time.

“(Telander) has played a bunch throughout the course of the season. (He) played really the entire football game the other night," Heupel said. "Everybody’s got great confidence in him, but the other guys as well.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com . X, formerly known as Twitter @AdamSparks . Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe .

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili out for season with ACL injury