Tennessee linebacker leaves Georgia game with injury

Tennessee starting linebacker Aaron Beasley left Saturday’s game against Georgia. He was helped off the field following an injury, and he looked “pretty rough” according to Wes Rucker.

Solon Page III is Beasley’s backup at Mike linebacker.

Beasley is Tennessee’s second-leading tackler with 62 stops this season. He also has 1.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior has played in 26 games in his career with seven starts. He had just nine tackles and a forced fumble entering the 2021 season. Beasley was suspended in April after a citation for animal cruelty related to a Tennessee student’s 6-month-old cat. He was reinstated in June.

Georgia tops Vols for 10th win

Tennessee put together a scoring drive to start the game, but they were unable to do much after that against a vaunted Georgia defense in a 41-17 loss.

The Volunteers had several opportunities to score. They turned the ball over on downs twice in the second half in Georgia territory, and they were stopped on fourth down another time which ended with a fumble.

A silver lining for the Vols, Tennessee’s 17 points were the most scored against Georgia this season. They entered Saturday allowing just 6.6 points per game.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker finished 24-for-37 with 244 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Backup Joe Milton came in late and went 6-for-9 with 88 yards and a touchdown.

Receiver Cedric Tillman was the one bright spot for the Vols, notching 10 receptions for 200 yards and a touchdown.

The Tennessee run game, which had averaged 217 yards per game to date, was held to just 55 yards on 36 carries.

Tennessee finishes the regular season by hosting South Alabama and Vanderbilt, two games in which they should be heavy favorites. They are 5-5 in first-year head coach Josh Heupel’s inaugural campaign.