Sadly Tennessee 2 Players Are Bound For The
On Early Signing Day, Braylon Staley will still be nearly two weeks away from formally deciding on his college. However, it was evident from the signing ceremony he conducted on Friday that he has no plans to renounce his long-standing pledge to Tennessee.
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.
Pili led the Cougars’ squad twice as captain and finished with 190 tackles in 36 games during his tenure. At BYU, he started 24 times.
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.
