Tennessee head coach Butch Jones is facing his first serious challenge of the 2015-16 football season and it’s only the first week of camp.
Senior left guard Marcus Jackson likely will miss the entire season with what some reports out of Knoxville have described as a biceps injury.
Jones wouldn’t confirm the injury on Tuesday but did reveal the fifth-year senior’s status.
“If he has any opportunity of returning, it would probably be toward the tail end of the season or a bowl game,” Jones told the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The 6-foot-2, 306-pound Jackson started 12 out of 13 games last season, missing the Alabama game with an injury.
Jones said he would not be specific with the injury in deference to Jackson’s privacy.
“We’re not gonna disclose it,” Jones said. “We’ve been pretty free with injuries, but we’ve gotta start respecting our players more.”