Florida's Jordan Scarlett (25) breaks the tackle of Tennessee's Jalen Reeves-Maybin (21) while Micah Abernathy (22) is held by Florida's Fred Johnson (74). There was no penalty on the play. The Florida Gators visited the Tennessee Volunteers in a important SEC football contest at Neyland Stadium on September 24, 2016.KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee again may have to operate without its two star linebackers on Saturday when the 11th-ranked Volunteers visit No. 25 Georgia.
By now, though, Tennessee is used to playing without Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
Head coach Butch Jones on Monday wouldn't rule Kirkland out for the trip to Athens, but the sophomore likely will miss his third straight game with the ankle injury he suffered against Virginia Tech.
Though Reeves-Maybin is expected to play, his shoulder injury limited him to only three defensive series in the win against Florida and could hinder him again against the Bulldogs.
"We'll know a little bit more about Darrin later in the week right now and we'll see," Jones said. "He's finally doing some land running and he's been in the pool running, so that's been very, very encouraging. We'll see from that aspect. We fully anticipate Jalen to play in the game. I give that young man credit.
"He wanted to be a part of it and wanted to be in the game and even put himself back in the game on his own, because it meant so much to him. The week of recovery he had last week, he should be stronger and more ready to go this week, but I'll know a little bit more of how many probably by Tuesday or Wednesday's practice.
"I would say Darrin would be questionable to doubtful, where I would fully anticipate Jalen to play in the game."
In the first four games Tennessee played barely four quarters with the Kirkland-Reeves-Maybin partnership.
Reeves-Maybin was ejected for targeting in the first quarter of the opener against Appalachian State, and Kirkland suffered his injury late in the third quarter against the Hokies.
Colton Jumper started in Kirkland's absence the past two games and racked up 15 tackles in those two games.
Jones said the former walk-on out of Chattanooga's Baylor School played his best game against the Gators, when he responded to Florida challenging him by making eight tackles and breaking up a touchdown pass.
Jumper's struggles in the past made him an easy target for criticism from Tennessee fans, but he silenced nearly all of it by playing a key role in a big win for the program.
Tennessee's Colton Jumper (53) tackles Florida's quarterback Austin Appleby (12). The Florida Gators visited the Tennessee Volunteers in a important SEC football contest at Neyland Stadium on September 24, 2016."We knew what Jumper could do," linebacker Cortez McDowell said. "We knew what he could bring to the table as a Mike linebacker and also as the captain of the defense. We had a tremendous amount of confidence in him, and he showed this week past week and he also showed it the week before.
"We all know that we've got confidence in him and we're going to continue to ride his coattails. He's going to continue to be a great Mike linebacker here."
Amid his struggles Jumper stayed away from social media and leaned on the continued support and belief in him of his coaches and teammates, and his patience has been rewarded.
"I just take it personal that I need to step it up in games," Jumper said. "There were some plays that I left out there on the field in the past that I shouldn't have left out there. Just practicing how you play, that eventually catches up. You go out there and you give it your all in practice, eventually it's going to pay off."
Picking up the slack in Reeves-Maybin's absence is McDowell, the junior who's the team's third-leading tackler after recording nine stops against Appalachian State and six against the Gators.
Entering the season Tennessee's top four linebackers were Reeves-Maybin, Kirkland, McDowell and promising redshirt freshman Quart'e Sapp, but Sapp was lost to an ACL injury against Ohio.
For stretches of the Florida game Tennessee employed a linebacker corps of Jumper, Kenny Bynum and Dillon Bates, while Gavin Bryant spelled Jumper for a first-half series and freshman Daniel Bituli even played and made an impressive tackle in a goal-line defensive package.
Those reserves could continue to be thrust into action with Kirkland and Reeves-Maybin ailing.
"It all goes back to our preparation throughout the week," McDowell said. "We have a bunch of guys in the linebacker group who's played tremendous amount of snaps here. Our confidence level as a group is very high.
"When you cancel out those two guys, it's tough, but when you have the rest of the guys on the field with you, that also gives that confidence and that motivation to bring your A-game, so you don't let those other guys down on the field."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.