Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee suspends DT Danny O'Brien indefinitely

Published Sep. 9, 2015 2:39 p.m. ET

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Butch Jones opened his Wednesday press conference with some bad news for Tennessee fans as the coach announced starting junior defensive tackle Danny O'Brien has been suspended indefinitely and will not play in the Oklahoma game.

O'Brien's loss leaves the Vols thin on experienced interior defensive linemen but should open the door for freshmen Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie to see the field more often. Jones said Kendall Vickers would likely start in O'Brien's absence.

Jones would not go into the specifics of O'Brien's suspension but it doesn't appear his place on the team's roster is in jeopardy.

"I'm not going to speculate," Jones said. "It's ongoing, and we'll see. We're going to support Dan through this whole deal, but there's just no timetable. I don't want to sit here and tell you it's one game. I don't want to sit here and tell you it's six games. It's going to be the ebb and flow and it could be ever-changing."

The Tennessee coach talked about the progress his two freshmen defensive tackles have made and his expectations for them moving forward.

On Kahlil McKenzie:

"He has gained some extra repetitions, and (is) doing a very good job," Jones said. "He's really dropped a lot of weight. We were talking about that yesterday after practice. He feels the best he's ever felt. He's weighing the least he's ever weighed before, so he's able to move a little bit more. I'm excited to see him perform Saturday."

On Shy Tuttle:

"I do think that Shy Tuttle has benefited from going through the spring," Jones said. "Any time you go through a full 15 practices in spring, you have a little more time in terms of the strength and conditioning room. I think that has helped him. Especially, too, with the knowledge of the defense and your run fits."

The suspension comes at a horrible time with Oklahoma coming to town this weekend. If the freshmen are not ready to compete against some of the best players the Big 12 has to offer, it could be a long night for the Volunteer defense.