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It was announced late last week that Tennessee would have to get get through the rest of the season without one of its biggest pieces on defense.
Kamal Hadden suffered a season-ending injury against Alabama. The defensive back had been one of the best for Tennessee, racking up 19 tackles and 3 interceptions so far this season.
On Monday in his press conference, Josh Heupel reflected on the loss for the Vols.
“Extremely disappointed for him,” Heupel said. “That’s a young guy that came into our program that’s continued to grow on the field, but off the field too. He was playing his best football. You just hate seeing that the season ends up being taken away. That’s hard for those guys emotionally, and they missed the opportunity to just be in the locker room and be with the guys.”
But Heupel was pleased with the play from his defensive backs on Saturday without Hadden. He believes they still have a ways to go, but Saturday against Kentucky was a good start.
“I thought the guys that had the opportunity to play stepped in and did some really good things,” Heupel said. “We’re gonna need to continue to grow there to perform the way we want to down the stretch.”
