Tackle Chance Hall “fired up” about getting back on the football field

It’s been well documented how banged up Tennessee is on the offensive line. Those injuries date back to last year and have created a unique and challenging situation for the new coaching staff. They’ve even experimented with flipping defensive lineman over to the offensive side to fill out depth.

According to head coach Jeremy Pruitt, the Vols could be getting one of those key pieces back. Tackle Chance Hall has been sidelined with a knee injury since training camp of last year. After missing all of the 2017 season, there was some doubt that Hall would get back to the football field.

But Pruitt squashed that line of thinking, saying that Hall is ready to get back on the football field.

“Chance wants to play,” Pruitt said. “When I first got here, me and him had a conversation. It’s been a while since he had played and I didn’t really know his story. So we sat down and talked. Chance is adamant. He’s fired up about having an opportunity to get back out there and that’s good to see.

“We need him back,” Pruitt told the media. “We’ve got several guys that are close. If we practice two weeks from now, we would have a bunch of guys that would be cleared to practice. It is what it is. We’ve got (rehabbing) guys that have started mixing in, so it’s good for them to get some reps.”

Hall has started 13 games at right tackle in his two seasons of availability for Tennessee. Truthfully, any warm body up front will be welcomed by Will Friend and Tyson Helton. Assuming Hall is back to full health, you can expect him to be one of your five starters (somewhere) on the offensive line.

We’ll see how that knee reacts to football action in camp.