For the last 35 games, Josh McNeil has been a steady and consistent presence along Tennessee's offensive line.
This offseason, that string of consecutive starts was put in doubt due to a battle for the starting job with fellow senior Cody Sullins. Now, his college career could be in jeopardy as the lineman is scheduled to undergo exploratory surgery on his knee.
Citing a source close to the situation, the Knoxville News Sentinel is reporting that McNeil will undergo the procedure as early as Wednesday to determine the extent of the damage to his knee.
What type and the extent of the damage found will determine whether McNeil can play again this season.
Head coach Lane Kiffin thinks McNeil was injured roughly a week and a half ago. The coach added that McNeil missed yesterday's practice because he was visiting a specialist.
"I want to say 8 or 9 days ago, McNeil came down weird on it and kept playing through it," Kiffin said yesterday. "It was really an issue for him Saturday.
"We sent him for some more tests. You can't just send him for an MRI because he's had so much damage (in the past) you can't really tell anything.
"We'll see what the results say when they come back and hopefully we'll have good news and he'll be able to play for us."
McNeil has already used his redshirt season, meaning his college career would be over if he's medically unable to play in '09 and either he doesn't petition the NCAA for a 6th year of eligibility, or the petition is denied.
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