TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS FIVE STARS ARE PLEANING TO MOVE.

Less than two weeks remain until Early Signing Day, and Tennessee will be welcoming two official guests this weekend. While a tight end in the transfer portal began visiting Knoxville to further explore his options, one of the top remaining targets for the Vols in the 2024 class is back in Knoxville to examine Tennessee more closely before making his final college decision.

This weekend, the Vols will host official visits from Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes and Class of 2024 cornerback Jaren Sensabaugh, a former Vanderbilt commitment from Nashville, Tennessee’s Ensworth School. Sensabaugh is one of the players Tennessee hopes to add to its class of 2024, while Staes, who just finished his sophomore season with the Fighting Irish, has become a top target for the Vols since he added his name to the transfer portal on Monday.

Vols LB After receiving an NCAA waiver, Keenan Pili plans to return in 2024.
Keenan Pili, a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans, has declared that he will play another season on Rocky Top.

Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili revealed on social media on Friday afternoon that he will be returning to Rocky Top for a second season in 2024 after receiving an extension of eligibility waiver from the NCAA.

According to a Tennessee official, the waiver was granted earlier on Friday, giving Pili the chance to play college football for a seventh season.

Pili posted a message on a graphic he posted on social media with the caption, “Vol Nation, thank you for welcoming me into the Knoxville family.” Let’s rerun it in 2024.

In Tennessee’s season-opening victory over Virginia on September 2, Pili sustained an upper-body injury that would ultimately cost him the rest of the campaign. With his leadership and experience, as well as his ability to play as a run defender in the box and in space with his range and coverage skills, Pili was a valuable addition to the middle of the defense when the Vols acquired him from BYU through the transfer portal in December.

As a redshirt junior in 2022, Pili recorded 62 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in his final season at BYU. A season-ending injury had ended his 2021 campaign the year before. He was able to play in three games and finished with 31 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, and a quarterback hurry. In a 24-16 victory over Arizona, Pili racked up a career-high 17 tackles and one tackle for loss.

After graduating from Timpview High School in Provo, Pili was a three-star recruit. In the 247Sports composite, the 6-foot-3, 237-pound linebacker was ranked as the 909th overall player, the 57th overall outside linebacker, and the 14th player in the state of Utah. Prior to serving a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando, Florida from 2017 to 2019, he redshirted as a freshman and was a member of the scout team in 2016.

His father’s cousin Ifo Pili played defensive line for BYU from 1997–98 and 2001–03, as did his brother Trajan.

He participated in 11 games in 2019 in his first season after his mission, making one start against USC. That season, Pili recorded a total of 25 tackles, including 17 solo stops. The following year, 2020, he had a standout redshirt-sophomore season, finishing second on the team with 72 total tackles. Pili earned Second Team All-Independent recognition by starting eight of ten games. After BYU defeated UCF 49–23, he was also named the Boca Raton Bowl Defensive MVP.

After high school, Pili was named a Semper Fi All-American and was a safety. In 2015, he helped Timpview to an 11-2 record and an appearance in the UHSAA 4A State Football Championship game. He was named to the Salt Lake Tribune Coaches’ All-State Class 4A Second Team. He had 70 tackles, one sack, three fumble recoveries, and one blocked field goal in his senior year.