Tennessee DB Warren Burrell out for season

On3 imageby:Alex Weber10/03/22

Tennessee just lost one piece of the puzzle in its secondary. According to head coach Josh Heupel, the Volunteers will be without senior defensive back Warren Burrell for the rest of the season. He appeared in in just two games this season but has logged snaps in 27 total games across his four-year Volunteer career.

Burrell was never a star in the defensive backfield. But he has played sporadically ever since stepping onto campus. And he even developed into a primary rotation piece for Tennessee as an upperclassmen. Given that he’s a true senior (who hadn’t used a COVID year) and will miss all but two games this season, all signs point to Burrell being granted a medical redshirt and returning for a fifth year next fall.

Here was Heupel’s official update on him at his press conference Monday ahead of the LSU game this weekend:

“Warren had surgery and will be out here the rest of the season,” Heupel said at the tail end of his presser.

After some bad news, how about a more positive update from Heupel on the status of star wideout Cedric Tillman:

Heupel provides update on Cedric Tillman following procedure

is currently down its top receiver in Cedric Tillman. The Vols’ leading receiver in 2021 has missed multiple weeks with an ankle injury and recently had a “tightrope” procedure to expedite his recovery. Following the small surgery, Tillman is back to moving around and may be getting close to a return.

At his Monday press conference this week, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel addressed Tillman and his timetable for a return:

“He was limited but moved around a little bit today. We will see where he’s at. He had the surgery to speed up the recovery process,” Josh Heupel shared on the star wideout. Then added that “Tillman has to show this week he can be a functional player in order to get on the field.”

The Volunteers travel to No. 25 LSU this coming weekend after their bye week this past one. Tillman is hopeful to take the field but very well may not if he’s unable to show he’s completely recovered.