KNOXVILLE -- After using the same starting lineup on the offensive line in each of the first five games of the season Tennessee may have to use a second different starting five in as many games on Saturday against Alabama.
Starting guard Jashon Robertson has been "very limited" in practice this week, Volunteers head coach Butch Jones said Wednesday, and his status for Saturday's game against the No. 8 Crimson Tide appears to be up in the air.
"He has been (limited) all year," Jones said. "Today and tomorrow are big days for him. I'll know a little bit more later in the week.
"Dylan Wiesman will be an individual who could bump over (from right guard to left). We ask a lot out of Dylan from playing left guard to right guard to center to a lot of things. Obviously that would change things."
If Robertson can't play and Tennessee elects to move Wiesman from right guard to left guard, it's likely freshman Jack Jones would enter the game.
Tennessee freshman offensive lineman Jack Jones, right, shown battling with teammate Andrew Butcher during the spring game, made an impact for the Volunteers in Saturday's win over Southeastern Conference rival Georgia.That's what happened when Robertson (ankle) left the Georgia game two weeks ago.
Center/guard Mack Crowder (ankle) also left the Georgia game, and right tackle Brett Kendrick (elbow) did not play in the game.
With three players absent, Tennessee threw freshmen Jones and Chance Hall into the game at right guard and right tackle.
Many of Tennessee's offensive linemen can play multiple positions, which has come into play the past two seasons when injuries have forced the Vols to shuffle pieces around up front.
"We kind of go through these scenarios every day," senior left tackle Kyler Kerbyson said. "I can say everyone on the offensive line can play multiple positions. That isn't a huge concern about switching guys around. I played three spots last year, and other guys can do the exact same thing.
"We see it as the standard and the expectation we hold in the O-line room (and) it's the same for everyone. Whoever is going to be on the field, whoever is going to play, whoever is going to start is going to have to keep to those standards and be the O-lineman that we want them to be."
Crowder and Kendrick were back at practice on Tuesday, but Tennessee's coaches likely won't finalize their decisions until Thursday or Friday.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones speaks to the offense during this past Saturday's season opener against Bowling Green at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The Volunteers' offensive line expects a tougher test Saturday when 23rd-ranked Tennessee host No. 19 Oklahoma at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.Butch Jones said last week he wouldn't be opposed to rotating players up front, but the Vols haven't done it that way under their third-year coach.
After impressing against Georgia, Hall and Jack Jones merited more playing time, but the notion of playing two freshmen against Alabama, which has the best defensive front in the SEC, is daunting
"It's not any different," Kerbyson said. "Every SEC team recruits really good D-linemen. It's what it is. You recruit big guys, which they have. They recruit fast guys, which is what they have. It's the same each and every week in the SEC.
"(The freshmen) can't look at it any different, and the advice that I give to them is they're just guys out there. That's the thing about playing in the SEC and being a freshman, is you kind of get to it as, 'Oh my God, these guys are so much better than I am or so much more experienced or so much more athletic or strong.'
"You got recruited here to do something. You got recruited here to play football, so you can play against these guys. You've got to have confidence and be able to succeed."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.