Keenan Pili is wise beyond his years, even though he is much older than the average college football player.
The Tennessee linebacker was welcomed back with open arms when he decided to return for one more season at Tennessee. The BYU transfer was supposd to run his final college football lap at Tennessee in 2023 before heading onto the NFL. A torn tricep muscle in September put that on hold, as well as his dreams of heading to the pros. Pili could have held onto his previous plan and left college to enter the NFL Draft. However, he – understandably so – thought it would be best to return to college for a seventh year of eligibility (one season Pili was on a Mormon Mission) and show the NFL scouts just what he could really become. That’s incredibly good news for a team that will lose its most experienced linebacker, Aaron Beasley, to the NFL after the Vols play Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.
There had been talk that Pili could return for the Citrus Bowl, which would give him one more game to show NFL scouts what he could do. Nope, Pili, who was a captain for two seasons at BYU, made the right decision. Another season – not just another game – is what he needs to show pro scouts just what he’s all about. Hurrying back wasn’t prudent. Pili figured that out despite his rapid recovery.
“I’ve been told many times that I’m really ahead of schedule for where the track says I should be,” Pili said. “I’m just taking that day-by-day, and understanding I’m not playing the bowl game, so I’m just trying to make sure I get fully healthy as I progress along the way. Not really rushing anything, getting stronger, getting back, feeling better, so I’m excited.”
Despite playing so little for Tennessee, Pili should be considered a team leader. Yes, he’s older. However, there’s more. Pili, 25, was immediately seen as a mature playmaker when he enrolled at Tennessee before the 2023 season. That’s why he was instilled as the Vols’ starting middle linebacker quickly after arriving on campus. Pili, despite playing so few snaps, already has the respect of the Vols’ coaching staff and, more importantly, his defensive teammates.
“I’ve said it before, but I feel like they didn’t look like young guys out there, what people would expect,” Pili said. “They look like they’ve been playing the game and I couldn’t be more excited being a part of that room to see some of those young guys do that, especially fresh out of high school. To me, that’s big time to have those big minutes. Guys who got probably a lot more time than they were expecting to play in these big games in the SEC. To see them succeed, to see them do what they do, I think is a great learning experience, and it’s going to help us into this next year as well.”
One would hope. The Vols weren’t quite as good at linebacker this season without Pili as he would have you believe. There were blown coverages, poor run fits among a group of players that looked like they missed a leader, like Pili. There’s no question that Pili made the right decision to return to college no matter how much NIL money he was offered. He needed Tennessee. And Tennessee needed Pili. Finding a financial figure to appease both parties shouldn’t have been a difficult hurdle to clear.
“These coaches, they have the player’s best interest,” Pili said. “A lot of the thoughts I had were pros and cons. What would it be like coming back? What would it be like if you left? How would all this work out? I think those conversations that I had with the coaches and certain people really helped me in the long run to make a well-informed decision. It’s something I’m comfortable with and excited about.”
Tennessee’s players, coaches and fans should feel the same.
