Josh Heupel says Jaylen McCollough not suspended, will return soon

The availability of Jaylen McCollough was a major story heading into Tennessee’s game versus Alabama over the weekend. After the Volunteer’s win over LSU, McCollough was arrested on a felony assault charge. He was unavailable for Tennessee’s win over the Tide but, according to Josh Heupel, the program expects to have their starting safety back soon.

Heupel updated the media on McCollough during his press conference on Monday. He says he has not been formally suspended and that the Volunteers hope to have him back playing in the near future.

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“He’s not suspended. He’s been around. Just wasn’t available for Saturday,” said Heupel. “(The) process is still going on with him. We’ll see how that continues to play out here. (We) look forward to having him available soon.”

McCollough, a senior in the Tennessee program, is fifth on the team in total tackles this season with 23. Over his career, he has 148 tackles, nine pass deflections, two sacks, a forced fumble, and three interceptions. The Vols were able to get the massive win without him but, now that this game is behind them, they want to get McCollough back as soon as possible.

As of now, they’re still allowing the process to play out when it comes to McCollough’s incident. Still, it sounds like there’s optimism he will be back in the fold soon per Heupel.

More on Jaylen McCollough situation

A new development has taken place in the Jaylen McCollough aggravated assault case, as the Tennessee defensive back faces uncertainty ahead of the Volunteers’ showdown with Alabama this coming Saturday.

On Tuesday, McCollough’s attorney — Chloe Akers — released a statement, emphasizing that the Tennessee defensive back “maintains his complete innocence” in the situation.

“Mr. McCollough is cooperating fully with both the University of Tennessee and Knoxville Police Department investigations into these allegations,” said Akers, per the Knoxville News Sentinel. “He looks forward to a speedy resolution of this matter and maintains his complete innocence.”

Moreover, McCollough is in his fourth season as a starting safety for the Volunteers, and has recorded 23 tackles so far this year. He has played all 40 games since the beginning of his true freshman season in 2019.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the police report states the incident occurred Sunday afternoon at 3:28 p.m. ET. A man said he had been drinking with friends at an apartment complex when he went to retrieve items from his vehicle. He returned to the building and went to the wrong apartment, knocking on McCollough’s door instead of his friends’.