The Danny O'Brien dismissal was the latest blow for Tennessee's defense.

O'Brien, a starting defensive tackle, was dismissed from the team Monday night for a violation of team rules.

That means the Vols will probably be without at least three of their opening game starters on defense when they play Alabama on Saturday, including two of the better defensive players in the SEC -- cornerback Cam Sutton and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Sutton, a preseason first-team All-SEC selection, is out with a fractured ankle he sustained during Tennessee's win over Ohio Sept. 17.

Reeves-Maybin, who was also a preseason first-team All-SEC selection, is dealing with a shoulder injury.

GoVols247 reported on Saturday that Reeves-Maybin will undergo season-ending surgery, though Vols coach Butch Jones told reporters on Monday that his star linebacker is still weighing his options.

Like Sutton, Reeves-Maybin got injured against Ohio and has missed Tennessee's last three games.

Those aren't the only injuries the Vols are dealing with on defense.

Backup linebacker Quart'e Sapp is out for the year with a torn ACL.

In addition, starting linebacker Darrin Kirkland has missed the last four games due to an ankle injury. It's unclear if he'll be available for Saturday's game against Alabama.

Fellow linebacker Cortez McDowell, who is third on the team with 32 tackles, left Saturday's game against Texas A&M with an undisclosed injury.

Like Kirkland, it's unclear if he'll play vs. Alabama.

Jones didn't provide any updates regarding Tennessee's injured players during his Monday press conference.

"I'm not going to comment on any (injuries)," Jones said Monday. "I'll know a little bit more as the week progresses because it's all premature. I haven't even seen our kids yet. They have injury check-in on Sundays, and that's it. We'll start the week off today, so I'll know a little bit more as the week progresses. I don't want to sit up here and tell you that somebody is not injured, and then all of a sudden they show up and there's something that happened in the game that we didn't know about.

"So, again, we're banged up. We're battered. We're bruised. But that's football. That's playing the in Southeastern Conference. We're not in any other conference. Our players understand that. They've done a great job."

Without Sutton, Reeves-Maybin and Kirkland, Tennessee has allowed an average of 35 points in its last three games after yielding an average of just 18.7 points in its first three games, albeit against Appalachian State, Virginia Tech and Ohio.

Texas A&M posted 592 yards of total offense during its 45-38 overtime win over the Vols on Saturday.

In the two games before that, Tennessee allowed 31 points against Georgia and 28 points along with 402 yards of total offense to a Florida offense that was playing without starting quarterback Luke Del Rio.

Now, the Vols will face an Alabama offense that racked up 517 yards of total offense during a 49-30 win over then-No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday.