KNOXVILLE - In the span of one week, Tennessee went from having a well-stocked rotation to dealing with an emergency situation at defensive tackle.
The dismissal of Danny O'Brien, an in-practice injury to Alexis Johnson and the season-ending injury Kahlil McKenzie suffered early in the loss to Alabama quickly sapped the Volunteers of available bodies on the interior of their defensive line.
Fortunately for Tennessee, this week's open date provides the chance to search for solutions.
"That's a great advantage of a bye week," defensive line coach Steve Stripling said. "Right now we can take a look at some different things. The concern for some is to get well and the concern for some is to get reps and get better."
Starter Kendal Vickers certainly fits in the former category after hurting his ankle against Alabama, but the Vols' other options beyond Shy Tuttle, who likely will step into the starting lineup, belong in the latter group.
Once Vickers was hurt, Tennessee relied heavily on seldom-used sophomore Quay Picou and defensive end Kyle Phillips to finish the game at defensive tackle. It would have been a big opportunity for Johnson to step in and play the most significant snaps of his career following his offseason suspension, but the junior college transfer was unavailable due to injury.
"Even though I said we weren't going to talk injuries, he has a hip flexor strain right now," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. "We're tying to get him back. That really sets his progression back. He's an individual that we recruited here to come and give us immediate help."
Picou played limited snaps in five games as a freshman last season and his only previous action before Saturday was at the end of the Virginia Tech win, but he made two tackles and recovered a fumble against Alabama.
"He's been really grinding and hasn't been saying a word," Stripling said. "He's just been working in practice to get a chance to get thrown in the game. It's nice to see him make a positive play on the fumble recovery and get some positive reinforcement. Again, it's a grind of a season, so the next guy's up and we've got to keep working."
Tennessee's coaches collectively were impressed by how Phillips, a 6-foot-4, 259-pound end, handled his 25 snaps inside. The Vols have played Dimarya Mixon and Jonathan Kongbo inside in pass-rush situations, but in a pinch the end who went inside was Phillips, the former five-star recruit who has battled injuries and still is looking to tap into his potential.
"I think it's a different world," Stripling said. "I've always said the hardest position, I think, in football is defensive tackle. He takes on two blockers on almost every play, and you expect the same type of effort. It's a different mentality in there.
"I'll say this about Kyle Phillips: He went in there and took 25 snaps at the defensive tackle position on Saturday. He was very willing and got after it. That's what it takes, is a mentality to attack the position."
Stripling wouldn't go as far as to say Phillips will play exclusively inside for the remainder of the season, but he liked how comfortable the sophomore looked and the competitiveness he showed.
"I was really proud of him," Jones said. "He's one of those individuals who doesn't say two words, has a smile on his face and works every single day. We're going to need more from him and we'll get more, because that's the type of individual that he is. We'll mix some things around. We'll move some people around. We have the luxury to do that and we have to be creative schematically as well."
Beyond Vickers, Tuttle, Picou and Johnson, the Vols will rely on ends like Phillips to provide inside depth, and they'll use this week to evaluate those options. That includes Andrew Butcher, a redshirt freshman yet to make his debut due to lingering knee and shoulder injuries.
"Andrew's a young man and a program guy who's had some injuries early in his career and has been now healthy for an extended period of time," Stripling said. "It's allowed us to start working with him. He's added weight. I think he's always been a really grinding, athletic, hard-nosed kid.
"This will be a good chance to get a good look at him, work with him this week and see where we go from there."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.