Photo via Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee football may be without one of its breakout stars on the defensive line when Vanderbilt comes to town this Saturday. On the Wednesday availability report, sophomore LEO Jordan Ross is listed as questionable on the report.

Ross sat out of the Vols’ recent win over New Mexico State due to precautionary reasons, but has played in all other games this season. The following week against Florida, he returned to action and played 10 snaps. He recorded one tackle in the game.

This season, Ross has proven to be one of the top options at his position. Coached by Levorn ‘Chop’ Harbin, he’s typically been the third choice behind NFL draft prospect Joshua Josephs and Caleb Herring. Ross has proven to be a strong young piece in his time on the field, posting 17 tackles, six being solo efforts, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

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This is Ross’ second year of college, both with the Vols. As a freshman, he played in 11 games and contributed three tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He was fourth in line in the LEO room, though, with James Pearce Jr. at the top of the list.

He primarily played special teams that opening season. Ross scored a touchdown after blocking a punt, but also roughed the punter at Arkansas in a game with thin margins that UT ultimately lost.

Ross was a five-star recruit and one of the highest-ranked players in the country, according to 247, out of high school. The recruiting service considered him the No. 9 player in the class, No. 1 edge rusher and No. 3 player out of Alabama.

If he can’t play, the expectation is likely increased snaps for Josephs and Herring. UT didn’t go any deeper than those three in the win over Florida, though there was a low snap count for the defense and Ross was able to pitch in.