The hits just keep on coming for the Tennessee Volunteers. Per VolQuest.com's Austin Price, senior defensive end Ben Martin has "torn his Achilles again." The story's not actually up yet, so we don't have the details, but VolQuest is reliable enough that we know that Martin's injured, that it's one of his Achilles (whether the same that was injured before or the other, we don't know yet), and that it's bad, bad news for him and for the Tennessee defense.
Vol fans will recall that Ben Martin did not play last year due to an Achilles tear. Assuming that Martin's again out for the season, that pretty much leaves sophomores Corey Miller and Jacques Smith, who are good but are young and only add up to "2." With the indefinite suspension of safety Brent Brewer and the departure (and unknown return) of safety Janzen Jackson, the depth chart on the defense looks entirely different than it did a mere three weeks ago. Derek Dooley did sign three-star DE Jordan Williams and three-star DT/DE Trevarris Saulsberry in this year's recruiting class, and he does still have Willie Bohannon on the roster (so far), but if there's a team in college football that can't handle any more direct hits to its depth, it's the Volunteers, who are already climbing out of a huge hole numbers-wise thanks to a variety of factors.
Best of luck to Martin on his recovery, and best of luck to the other guys who are going to need to be ready.