Josh Heupel says Dee Williams is 'excited' to make season debut

Tennessee Volunteers cornerback Dee Williams will make his 2022 season debut on Saturday versus the LSU Tigers, and according to head coach Josh Heupel, he’s more than ready to start making an impact.

“We’ve kind of continued to build him up in what we’re doing since the start of the season,” Heupel said. “Medical staff and strength staff have done a really good job. With the injuries he’s sustained, being able to continue to progress, felt like he had an opportunity to play last week but one more week of preparation was probably needed for him. He’s excited and he’s looked really good. He’ll be a huge part of the game for us.”

Williams transferred to Tennessee from East Central C.C., a junior college in Mississippi. A nagging injury kept him off the field but he can now contribute alongside Kamal Hadden versus LSU. It’s good timing for the Vols who lost Warren Burrell to season-ending surgery this week.

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Dee Williams is a 5-foot-11, 190-pound corner and a native of Forsyth, Georgia. At East Central C.C., he posted 45 tackles and four interceptions in 10 games.

Tennessee DB Warren Burrell out for season

Tennessee lost one piece of the puzzle in its secondary this week. According to head coach Josh Heupel, the Volunteers will be without senior defensive back Warren Burrell for the rest of the season. He appeared in just two games this season but has logged snaps in 27 total games across his four-year Volunteer career.

Burrell was never a star in the defensive backfield. But he has played sporadically ever since stepping onto campus. And he even developed into a primary rotation piece for Tennessee as an upperclassman. As he is a true senior who hasn’t used a COVID year, he could return for a fifth year this fall.

Heupel provided the official update on him at his press conference Monday ahead of the LSU game this weekend:

“Warren had surgery and will be out here the rest of the season,” Heupel said at the tail end of his presser.

On3’s Alex Weber contributed to this report.