Josh Heupel updates status of Tennessee receiver Squirrel White

Tennessee had a scary moment on Saturday, seeing sophomore receiver Squirrel White go down with an injury. White, the star of the 2022 Orange Bowl win over Clemson, went down in the second half and didn’t return to the game. White didn’t return, but Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel didn’t seem too concerned about the situation on Monday.

“The time of the game,” Heupel said when asked if White could have returned, “that’s the only reason that he wasn’t back in the game. Felt we were in a good spot there.”

White caught six passes for 45 yards before exiting. Tennessee mostly used him in the short game, getting the ball out quickly to the perimeter and letting White go to work. The Volunteers didn’t need much from their receivers on Saturday as Jaylen Wright, Dylan Sampson and Jabari Small ran for nearly 300 yards.

Tennessee does get a tune-up game against Austin Peay on Saturday before a trip to Florida to take on the Gators. It’ll be interesting to see if they let White play in that one with conference play looming.

The Volunteers were also without starting center Cooper Mays and defensive lineman Elijah Simmons against Virginia. Heupel is unlikely to give any updates before Saturday, but we’d guess the staff is probably going to play it safe with Florida up next. Expect plenty of youth on the field on Saturday night.