Josh Heupel confirms Tyree Weathersby will miss 2023 season, DeSean Bishop out 'a couple months' with injuries

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel delivered some unfortunate news on the injury front on Wednesday. Freshman defensive lineman Tyree Weathersby is going to miss the entire 2023 season with an injury.

Along with Weathersby, Tennessee will also be without another freshman for an extended period, Heupel said. Though it won’t be season-ending, freshman running back DeSean Bishop is expected to miss months of action.

“Weathersby will be out for the year. Deshaun is not out for the year but will be out for an extended period of time. Probably a couple of months,” Heupel said.

Weathersby played high school football at New Manchester (Ga.) High School, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 336 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Bishop played high school football at Karns (Tn.) High School, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1380 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Heupel did have a positive update for one Tennessee player

Heupel provided a positive update on offensive lineman Cooper Mays on Wednesday.

Heupel explained during a press conference on Wednesday that he believes Mays will be back on the field sooner rather than later.

“We believe we’ll have an opportunity to have him back,” Heupel said. “Everything’s gone well, since you know, he you know, missed training camp and had the issue that he had, but at the same time, and it’s true for every position, but in particular the offensive line, you’ve better have contingency plans.

“You don’t know when that’s going to happen. A guy gets an ankle. You guys have seen that since we’ve been here. So every week you’ve got to understand where you’re at going into the game, how you want to manage it and play those guys if you’re healthy, but if something happens to one of those five guys, somebody gets nicked up, who’s the next in? How are you shuffling your front five if in particular your center goes down? So those are things that you work through every training camp, and throughout the course of the season.”

Moreover, Cooper Mays is one of Tennessee’s most experienced linemen and a third-team preseason All-SEC selection by the league’s media.