Tennessee's defense will be without one of its most experienced players in 2019. Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt's announced this week that redshirt senior linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. has decided his playing career is over after dealing with nagging injuries throughout his time with the program.  

Kirkland missed all of the 2017 season after suffering a knee injury but returned in 2018 and played in all 12 games in Pruitt's first year coaching the Vols. He had an explosive start in the opener with 10 tackles against West Virginia, and went on to finish fourth on the team with 51 stops on the season. 

While he was able to play in each of Tennessee's games last year, Kirkland's knee issues lingered and he did not practice in the spring. When healthy, Kirkland has been one of the most consistent performers on the defensive side of the ball. But 2018 was the first full year of action uninterrupted by injuries since his impressive debut in 2015, when he appeared in every game and was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. 

After seeking treatment from specialists this spring, Pruitt said Kirkland has decided it's time to move on to the next stage in his life. 

"He has exhausted everything that he can to try to get himself back to where he can physically play," Pruitt said this week in Destin, Fla. at the SEC Spring Meetings, via the Knoxville News Sentinel. "We all get to this point in time. At some point, they either tell us we're not good enough anymore, or our body tells us it's time to stop. Darrin feels like it's time for him to move on."

Pruitt also used his time with the media to announce that sophomore tight end James Brown will join Kirkland in retiring from football due to injuries. Brown, who did not appear in any games for the Vols, has been battling shoulder issues. There was no update from Pruitt on the NCAA waiver process for defensive lineman Aubrey Solomon, the former top recruit from Michigan seeking eligibility to play in 2019.