Tennessee, once again, is dealing with another major injury along its defensive front.

Sophomore defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie "is not expected back this year" after enduring a torn pectoral muscle in the first half of Saturday's blowout-loss to Alabama.

It's another devastating blow for the Vols, who are without senior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin for the remainder of the season after 247Sports first reported last Saturday that Reeves-Maybin had undergone season-ending shoulder surgery.

Tennessee also has played its last four games without the services of sophomore linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., senior cornerback Cameron Sutton and sophomore linebacker Quart'e Sapp, who is out for the year with a torn ACL.



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McKenzie made his first career start last Saturday after he had posted five tackles the week before at Texas A&M. He's appeared in 20 career games and notched 36 career tackles. The 6-foot-3, 325-pound tackle has 1.5 career tackles for losses, including his first career sack in the Vols' first-ever win at Missouri last season.

McKenzie hurt his shoulder as he hustled toward the Vols' sideline and assisted on a tackle of the Alabama ballcarrier. He immediately went to the sideline and never returned to the game. He was examined by UT's medical personnel on the sideline and then taken to the locker room.

By the second half, McKenzie had returned to the sideline but in the school's Nike-issued gray warmups. The Vols also dismissed Danny O'Brien, a fifth-year senior defensive tackle, for a repeat violation of the school's drug-testing policy.

Kirkland is expected to return for the Vols' next game, Oct. 29 at South Carolina. Tennessee gets its lone bye week this week after playing seven-straight weeks to open the season.

Likewise, sources extremely close to Sutton indicate he plans to return to the Vols by early-November after undergoing ankle surgery following the injury against Ohio.