Shy Tuttle’s return — date still uncertain — key for Tennessee’s defense

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Quick, name the most devastating injury that occurred in last season’s Georgia-Tennessee game.

Tennessee coach Butch Jones would understand if you pointed toward Georgia running back Nick Chubb’s brutal season-ending knee injury from that game — Chubb is one of the nation’s best running backs, after all — but Jones lost a crucial player of his own that day.

Volunteers defensive lineman Shy Tuttle was starting to establish himself as a true freshman when he broke his leg and tore an ankle ligament following a low block by Bulldogs offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow. The injury forced Tuttle to miss the remainder of the 2015 season and spring practice — and even now Jones is unable to set a timetable for when Tuttle will return to full strength.

Shy Tuttle was showing flashes as a true freshman in 2015 before suffering season-ending leg and ankle injuries against Georgia. Charles Mitchell/Icon Sportswire

“He’s progressing. He’s running. He’s been working out,” Jones said last week during his SEC Car Wash appearance at ESPN headquarters. “He’ll be very limited in training camp. And so we’ll know a little bit more probably mid-August of where he’s at. He’s done a great job of rehabbing his injury, but it was one of those devastating injuries that takes a lot of perseverance …

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