Virginia’s best pass rusher out against Tennessee
Virginia will be without its most productive pass rusher against Tennessee on Saturday. Head coach Tony Elliott said Tuesday that Chico Bennett Jr., who led the Cavaliers in sacks last season, will be out for the season-opener due to a knee injury.
No. 12 Tennessee faces Virginia on Saturday (Noon Eastern Time, ABC) at a sold-out Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
“Chico, man, he was pushing for this week,” Elliott, the second-year Virginia coach, said during his press conference on Tuesday, “and obviously it was a big scare for all of us.”
The scare didn’t happen the way most injuries do, though. Elliott explained that the knee issue happened suddenly for Bennett after a practice during training camp.
“It’s a crazy story of how it happened,” Elliott said. “He’s taking a knee after practice, and then next thing you know, he can’t straighten his leg. And we’re like, oh, Lord, what just happened? And we’re very fortunate that it was a situation where it was a minor procedure where they just had to remove some bone fragments.”
Countdown to Kickoff: Vols vs. Virginia, Saturday, Noon ET, ABC
Bennett had seven sacks to lead Virginia last season. He had 34 tackles on the season, with 17 solo and 17 assisted. Linebacker Nick Jackson was the next closest in the sack category, with five.
The timeline for Bennett’s return, according to Elliott, will be determined by how quickly the swelling in the knee goes down.
“There was nothing structurally wrong,” Elliott said. “I was just walking over here with him. He’s walking good. He’s back running a little bit. So I’m anticipating next week is realistic for him.”
Tennessee’s biggest injury question entering Week 1 is starting center Cooper Mays, who has been out since August 9 after undergoing what head coach Josh Heupel described as “a minor procedure.”
The injury has not been publicly disclosed by the Vols. Heupel said on August 10 that he expected it to be “a couple-week deal” but he had no further status update on Monday.
“Cooper, we’ll find out here as the week goes on, his availability in this one,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference. “We’ve had two and a half, three weeks of different guys having an opportunity to play on the interior (of the offensive line), if he’s not able to go. Feel really confident in those guys.”
Defensive tackle Elijah Simmons was also sidelined with an injury during Tennessee’s fall camp.
Tony Elliott updates list of UVa injuries for Tennessee game
As for Virginia, Elliott said Tuesday that senior safety Donvoan Johnson “is still couple weeks away,” as is sophomore running back Xavier Brown. Junior corner Will Simpkins is still returning from injury while freshman Titus Ivy has a hamstring issue and freshman safety Caleb Hardy has an ankle injury.
Fifth-year safety Antonio Clary is “pushing” to be ready for Saturday’s game, according to Elliott. He also said fifth-year defensive end Ben Smiley will replace Bennett against he Vols.
“(Smiley) have a great opportunity,” Elliott said, “and I’m sure Chico will give him some tips to help him be prepared. But Chico’s the biggest one. The other injuries we didn’t anticipate having this week, and I’m hoping within the next week or two, we’ll have some of those guys back.”
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