Jacob Gilliam’s collegiate career may be over, but he still has the support of his teammates.

The former walk-on turned scholarship left tackle suffered a torn ACL in Tennessee’s win over Utah State Sunday, ending his redshirt senior season. After five years, Gilliam was finally named to the starting offensive line entering 2014, months after being rewarded with a full scholarship. Though his road was tough, Gilliam persevered and won the respect of his coaches and peers.

“Here is a young man who walked on and earned a scholarship,” head coach Butch Jones told Tennessee’s official website. “He earned it. It is very unfortunate, but that is football. … I love him and I love his family. I love everything that they stand for.”

Senior Marlin Lane and redshirt junior Marcus Jackson have witnessed the majority of Gilliam’s tenure with the Vols, going from a member of the scout team to a starting role.

“He is disappointed,” Jones said. “He has put in a lot of hard work, effort and commitment into it. It will serve him year down the road with handling adversity. He will be better from it. Obviously you would expect him to be down after putting so much work into it.”

“I’ve been with him for four years,” Jackson added. “It’s tough to see that. He did come in here as a walk-on and worked his way up. I’m real proud of him, but everything in life happens for a reason and he’ll be a stronger person because of it.”

Despite his injury, Gilliam’s Tennessee teammates want him to remain a vital part of the team.

“Unfortunately things like that happen in football,” fellow senior lineman Mack Crowder said. “He’s going to be there with us every step of the way coaching these guys up and just being there to support us because he’s still a part of the offensive line.”

Prior to Sunday’s game, Gilliam made three previous appearances for Tennessee off the bench. He started two years at left tackle for Knoxville-area Farragut High School, helping the team reach a 21-5 record. He earned All-Region honors as a junior and All-District and All-KIL accolades as a senior.