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Josh Heupel not talking injuries before No. 15 Tennessee's game vs. No. 6 Georgia

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey09/08/25GrantRamey
Tennessee offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. (70) on the sidelines during the Aflac Kickoff Game between the Volunteers and Syracuse held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on August 30, 2025.
Tennessee offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. (70) on the sidelines during the Aflac Kickoff Game between the Volunteers and Syracuse held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on August 30, 2025.

Josh Heupel declined to talk injuries during his weekly press conference on Monday. Instead, the Tennessee Football can wait until the SEC injury report is made available Wednesday night. 

“Yeah, I’m going to refer you guys to the injury availability report,” Heupel said. “I’m not sure what day it comes out, but it’ll be out on Wednesday.”

Last season the SEC introduced an injury report for conference games. The first edition is released around 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesdays, then updated Thursday night, Friday night and one final time on Saturday, 90 minutes before kickoff.

Up Next: No. 15 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Georgia

No. 15 Tennessee (2-0) hosts No. 6 Georgia (2-0) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ABC) in the SEC opener at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols have multiple injury situations to watch. 

Freshman David Sanders Jr., Tennessee’s starting right tackle and a former five-star prospect, has missed the first two games of the season after suffering an upper body injury late in practice on August 27.

“Dave, anticipated him being ready,” Heupel said Saturday after the 72-17 win over ETSU at Neyland Stadium. “Ultimately, medical decided for him, for us, it probably wasn’t the best move to play him today.”

Heupel did talk injuries last week, saying that cornerback Rickey Gibson III, who was injured in the 45-26 win over Syracuse to open the season in Atlanta on August 30, would be out “an extended period” of time.

“How long,” Heupel added, “I don’t have the exact time table but he’ll be out for an extended time.”

Tennessee defensive lineman Jaxson Moi was also injured early in the game against Syracuse and did not play on Saturday against ETSU. 

Moi and Gibson also suffered upper body injuries. Heupel sounded more optimistic on the timeline for return for Moi last Monday. 

“Hope to get him back quickly,” he said. “In this game, you’ve heard me say it, the strength of a position group can’t be one guy. Everybody has to be ready and prepared to play when they get the fall. We have to continue to grow.”

Cornerback Jermod McCoy continues to be sidelined while returning from the torn ACL he suffered while training in January. Defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs suffered a lower-body injury late in training camp.

A Closer Look: SEC Availability Reports

The SEC last year announced availability reports for football, basketball and baseball. For SEC football games, schools are required to submit availability reports three days before games and issue daily updates up until 90 minutes before game time. 

Players are listed as available, probable, questionable, doubtful or out for their next game. On game day the updates will include available, game-time decision or out. 

Schools of who fail to provide accurate and timely availability reports will be subject to penalties from $25,000, for first-time offenders, to $100,000 for “third and further” offenses in football. Men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball fines will be between $15,000 and $25,000. 

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