Vols McNeil To Have Knee Surgery, Season in Doubt

University of Tennessee center Josh McNeil initially has been banged up his whole career. However, this is one injury the senior cannot shake. Head coach Lane Kiffin confirmed after today's practice that McNeil will undergo arthroscopic surgery for his injured knee Wednesday morning to determine the extent of the injury.

This could be a tremendous blow for the Vols as McNeil has been an ironman on the field, starting 35 games for the Vols - much of the time while battling injuries.

While a simple MRI would normally be done to determine the extent of the injury, McNeil's knees are too badly banged up to get anything out of an MRI, a knoxnews.com report said.

While we await word of the extent of the injury, freshman Cody Sullins will take over center duties for the Vols offense. McNeil and Sullins were in a tight battle for the starting job since Kiffin's arrival. Even though McNeil would have won the job, Sullins gave the veteran McNeil a run for his money. However, any time you go from a senior to a freshman, there is going to be a learning curve to overcome. With the inconsistent quarterback play, this could prove to be a bigger loss than the Vols think.