Tennessee came into summer camp knowing that they would have to place all three of the Vols’ starting defensive linemen from a year ago. Now, one of the players expected to slide into one of those jobs has been lost as well.
Jeremy Pruitt revealed Wednesday that Emmit Gooden has been diagnosed with a torn ACL. The lineman suffered the injury during a practice session Tuesday and will undergo surgery at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Obviously, given the timing of the injury, Gooden will be sidelined for the entire 2019 season.
The good news, such as it is, is that Gooden has another season of eligibility he can use next season.
Gooden came to Rocky Top after spending the 2016 and 2017 seasons at a Kansas junior college. In his first season with the Volunteers, the Tennessee native played in 12 games, starting one of those contests. His seven tackles for loss were good for third on the team this past season.
