For Keenan Pili, team 'culture' won out in decision to return to Tennessee
Keenan Pili couldn’t move his arm.
After trying to put the pain out of mind in the first quarter of Tennessee’s opener vs. Virginia on Sept. 2 in Nashville, Pili knew something was wrong by the third quarter. Days later, his fears were confirmed: a tricep injury would sideline him for the remainder of the season.
For Pili, who transferred to Tennessee from BYU last spring, his promising stint with the Vols appeared to be over before it could really begin.
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"I felt (the injury) happen in the first quarter," Pili said. "As a player, you're like, 'Man, there is no way' and you just play through it. But when the third quarter came I was like, 'I can barley move my arm.'"
Surgery and the rehab process followed. So did dealing with the realization that he wasn't going to be able to play.
Pili, a two-time captain in five seasons at BYU, was expected to bolster the Vols' linebackers room, which already returned leading tackler Aaron Beasley, but instead of making the most of what he planned to be his final season of college football, he was watching from the sidelines.
In the facilities, he leaned on his teammates. At home, his wife Lindsey.
"A lot of players in the position group helped me early on," Pili said. "I knew the injury was bad right after the game and I was pretty down about that. It was the players that were picking me up. They helped a lot. Having my wife at home has helped a lot during the recovery process, for sure.
"Staying close with my family, staying close with my coaches and the team here has really helped me."
WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee LB Keenan Pili discusses decision to return
It didn't take long for Pili take adapt to a new role.
After his recovery, he was back in the meeting rooms and on the practice field as Tennessee turned to sophomore Elijah Herring and freshmen Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander to fill the void. He joined the team on road games because coaches felt his presence was valuable.
A 24-year-old veteran player, the new perspective taught Pili lessons he hadn't learned before.
"Just over emphasizing that any play could be your last play, so try to make that play the best play ever," Pili said. "So, just keeping that mentality. I've been injured before and injuries are a part of football. As you play the game, you've just got to be grateful for those moments that you have, the time you have with your brothers. Any opportunity that you get to play this game is a good one."
By the end of the Vols' regular season, Pili's medical waiver for a sixth year of eligibility was granted and he had a decision to make whether or not to return to Tennessee. He opted to stay in Knoxville to have the kind of season he envisioned when he moved there nearly a year ago.
WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee LB Elijah Herring meets with media
"I felt like, obviously this season I didn't want to get injured, didn't want to miss it," Pili said. "I had that feeling of wanting to finish why I came. I wasn't planning on being here another year, but I'm excited that I get to be. Just to come back and finish what I wanted to start."
Pili says he's ahead of schedule, though he won't play in Tennessee's Citrus Bowl game against Iowa on Jan. 1, 2024 in Orlando. He'll have the opportunity to headline a room that will have more experience than it started the past season with.
"I feel like (Herring, Telander and Carter) didn't look like young guys out there," Pili said. "They looked like they had been playing the game and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of that room and see some of those young guys do that, especially right out of high school. To me, that's big time. Those guys got a lot more time than they were probably expecting in the SEC, so to see them succeed and do what they do, I think it's a great learning experience and it's going to help them next year as well."
That was at least a part of the equation in Pili's decision to come back. The biggest, though was the program itself.
"I think diving into Tennessee and this program, it was really easy for me to say that I'd love to come back," Pili said. "I mean, who wouldn't want to be here for another year? I think had a big part with me wanting to come back. I love the coaches here, I love the coaching staff. I love the culture that was brought here.
"I love my teammates and I think that's a big part of why I love being here and why I wanted to come back here."
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