Just weeks before kick-off, training camp energy in Knoxville took a sudden hit. Head coach Josh Heupel enters a crucial year with Playoff ambitions, but a sudden defensive injury has thrown an early wrench into Tennessee’s high-stakes season plans.

Sophomore linebacker Jaedon Harmon damaged his right knee during Saturday’s practice. Tests later confirmed every coach’s worst fear: a torn ACL that will keep him off the field for the entire 2026 season.

While losing a key player is enough reason to be worried, losing him to an ACL tear makes matters worse. It is the kind of injury where, even after recovering, most players do not get back their rhythm for the rest of their careers. Tennessee fans saw this play out when former cornerback Jermod McCoy lost his 2025 season to a torn ACL. Despite rehab efforts, the missed time cooled his momentum, sliding his 2026 draft selection down to the fourth round.

Harmon has enough time on his hands to fix whatever damage the ACL tear has caused, as the new NCAA age eligibility rule now permits student-athletes to play for up to five years instead of four. With his sophomore season completely ruled out, Harmon has three more years to rise through the ranks and cement his place in Heupel’s team.

In his freshman season, Harmon played in all 13 games and recorded 19 tackles, half a sack, half a tackle for loss, and one pass breakup last season. He was one of Heupel’s main rotating options in 2025. His most outstanding performance came in the final game of the 2025 season against Illinois in the Music City Bowl, where he equaled a season-high with four tackles. Another game he stole the spotlight was against New Mexico State, where he played a season-high 24 defensive snaps and recorded three tackles and half a sack.

Regardless, losing Harmon hurts because he was becoming a reliable rotational piece. He is behind a few seniors in the Volunteers’ stacked linebacker room, and the team will be without one of them when the season begins. Linebacker Arion Carter, who led the SEC with 7.6 tackles per game in 2025, will miss the first two games against Furman and Georgia Tech due to an NCAA violation.

His suspension comes as a result of a $427 flight during the NFL pre-draft process during the time he entered the NFL draft in December, before opting out due to a medical assessment that he would be unable to sail through the NFL Combine or pro day. The ban remains effective even after he repaid the money for the flight. Regardless, Carter is a huge asset that the Vols will be eager to have back once his ban is over.

Volunteers’ linebackers unit

The Volunteers’ linebackers unit features other top athletes, like Edwin Sillman, Jeremiah Telander, and Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, who will be the main starters in the new season.

“So those are the things that we teach and preach from day one,” linebackers coach William Inge said on Saturday. So whether you’re a first-year freshman or a fifth-or sixth-year senior, leadership has to be a premium. And when you’re on the football field, you have to make sure that you command the defense. You are the quarterback. So that’s the standard that’s been set, and I think we have three veterans in Amare (Campbell), Arion (Carter) and (Jeremiah) Telander, who are doing a really good job of being able to set that example so all the other guys know what to follow and how to follow.”

While Carter was an All-SEC mention, Spillman recorded 81 tackles, and Telander completed 80 tackles, with both being among the conference’s best. Campbell, on the other hand, had 103 tackles at Penn State in 2025.