How Tennessee football is on razor’s edge of roster attrition in CFP chase

Is Tennessee football running out of its best players or still effectively filling gaps amid a final push toward the College Football Playoff?

That’s in the eye of the beholder. But the Vols‘ breaking point could be too close for comfort.

The strain took center stage when coach Josh Heupel confirmed on Nov. 9 that defensive end Tyree Weathersby, the team’s sack leader, is out for the season with a left knee injury.

Weathersby is the eighth player that the Vols have lost to a season-ending injury in 2026, which appears to lead the SEC.

And Tennessee is pushing its starters to the limit during the first nine-game league schedule in SEC history. Ten UT players have played 85% of the snaps during this grueling season, which is the most of any SEC team still in contention for a playoff bid.

“We’re absolutely aware of (challenges of roster attrition),” Heupel said. “You want to get your guys prepared to go play well. Physically, they’ve got to be in a great spot to play well. You’re balancing all those things.”

No. 9 Tennessee (7-2, 5-2 SEC) plays at Texas A&M (4-5, 1-5) on Nov. 14 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN). Then the Vols will wrap up the regular season against No. 22 LSU on Nov. 21 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and at Vanderbilt on Nov. 28.

They hope a playoff game awaits after that, when the they want to play their best. But reaching the postseason is taking a toll.

Tennessee starters play more than other SEC playoff contenders

Tennessee has 10 players who have played at least 85% of the snaps on their side of the ball, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s more than any SEC team still in the CFP chase.

On offense, right tackle Jesse Perry (94% of snaps), left tackle David Sanders (89%), center Sam Pendleton (86%), wide receiver Mike Matthews (85%) and wide receiver Braylon Staley (85%) have carried heavy loads.

On defense, safety Dejuan Lane (92%), safety TJ Metcalf (90%), cornerback Ty Redmond (90%), linebacker Amare Campbell (90%) and cornerback Kayin Lee (89%) have had few breaks during a grueling SEC gauntlet.

That’s more players logging 85% of the snaps than Kentucky (9), Texas (8), Alabama (6), LSU (6), Missouri (6), South Carolina (5), Ole Miss (4) and Georgia (1).

DeSean Bishop has played 61% of UT’s offensive snaps. But only two running backs in college football have had more than Bishop’s 196 rushing attempts.

Derek Owings effect paying off in second-half surges

Most Tennessee starters have rarely left the lineup during SEC play. That’s because of UT’s reluctance to substitute at key positions and the nature of its games.

Most of Tennessee’s SEC games have been low scoring and close. UT’s 34-6 win over Kentucky marked the first SEC game in which either the Vols or their opponent scored more than 28 points. And four of its six SEC games have been decided by margins of 10 points or less.

That’s allowed few opportunities to dig deep into the roster, especially for a coaching staff that relies heavily on starters.

But first-year UT strength coach Derek Owings conditioned the Vols for the stretch run in a demanding offseason program that started immediately after Heupel hired him from national champion Indiana in January.

During summer workouts, Owings told UT players that they were training “to get to the end of January,” referring to the national title game.

That hard work paid off. Despite dealing with depth concerns, the Vols have outscored SEC opponents 93-44 in the second half of games. In UT’s two biggest wins, it outscored Alabama 14-0 and Kentucky 24-0 in the second half.

How Vols adapted to losing eight players to season-ending injuries

Tennessee has lost eight players to season-ending injuries: Weathersby (knee); starting left guard Wendell Moe; starting safety Edrees Farooq (knee); starting tight end Ethan Davis (knee); safety Dylan Lewis (foot); wide receiver/kick returner Joakim Dodson (leg); linebacker Jaedon Harmon (knee); and cornerback Jadais Richard (upper-body).

Counting players with season-ending injuries is an incomplete task. Heupel usually confirms serious injuries, but many coaches do not. Instead, players are just listed as “out” on the SEC availability report week after week.

But combining media reports and the availability report, it appears that no SEC game has lost more players to season-ending injuries than Tennessee.

The Vols have weathered those losses so far. They replaced Moe with sophomore Nic Moore at left guard and Davis with sophomore DaSaahn Brame at tight end. Losing Dodson pushed freshman Tyreek King into the backup slot position.

The secondary lost Farooq, Lewis and Richard. It compensated mostly by piling extra snaps on the starting defensive backs.

At safety, Lane and Metcalf have played 549 and 536 snaps, respectively, of 594 total snaps by UT’s defense. At cornerback, Redmond and Lee have played 534 and 528 snaps, respectively. At nickelback, Moss’ only rest was when he did not play the Auburn game due to injury.

How Tennessee’s top-rated pass rush replaces Tyree Weathersby

Losing Weathersby will test the Vols’ depth and adaptability once again. He started all nine games and made 20 tackles, including 8.5 for loss. And his seven sacks and two fumble recoveries lead the team.

Most of his production came in SEC games, including 2.5 sacks against Texas, two sacks against Alabama and two tackles-for-loss against Arkansas. Weathersby is a key cog in UT’s pass rush, which leads the nation with 39 snaps.

Jordan Norman and Mariyon Dye will be among the defensive ends who will get increased playing time. Freshmen Hezekiah Harris and Kedric Golston could get into the mix, but they’ve played only 38 defensive snaps combined this season.

Heupel said, “They’re either prepared for their moment or they’re not.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Tennessee football is on razor’s edge of roster attrition in CFP chase