Tennessee's Mack Crowder (57) hobbles off the field after being injured playing Kentucky during the second half of play at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014. The Volunteers won over the Wildcats with a final score of 50-16.KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee could have a new guy starting every one of its offensive plays when 19th-ranked Missouri visits Neyland Stadium on Saturday night.
Starting center Mack Crowder is questionable to play against the Tigers, coach Butch Jones said Monday, after suffering a high-ankle sprain and a slight knee sprain in his left leg in the third quarter of the Volunteers' win against Kentucky.
The redshirt junior put no weight on his left leg as he was helped off the field and left the sideline on crutches after he was rolled up on while blocking downfield.
"We'll see how he progresses throughout the course of the week," Jones said.
Sophomore Dylan Wiesman finished Tennessee's 50-16 win at center and would be in line to start if Crowder can't play. A former three-star recruit out of Colerain High School in Cincinnati, the 6-foot-3, 303-pounder played in 10 games as a backup guard in 2013. He's appeared in 10 games as one of the three shield men on punts and a backup center this season.
"I thought Dylan did some very, very good things," Jones said. "He's been another one those individuals that benefited from the bye week, or the work week, of gaining a lot of repetitions at center. He was ready to go, and I thought he did some good things."
Jones said the Vols also could turn to starting left guard Marcus Jackson or backup right tackle Coleman Thomas, who played center in high school and got some work there during Tennessee's open date, if necessary.
Wiesman struggled some with his shotgun snaps in practice earlier in the season, but he was solid against Kentucky.
"When you're having shotgun snaps, the accuracy of that snap is critical," Jones said. "If it's to the left or to the right, or if it's high or it's low, the quarterback has to take his eyes off his read, whether it's in the throw game or the run game. We really stress snap accuracy, and that's one of the areas (where) I thought he did a very good job."
Dominant defense
After facing a pair of friendly defenses in South Carolina (13th in the SEC in total defense) and Kentucky (11th) the past two games, Tennessee will face a much stiffer challenge with Missouri.
The Tigers are 22nd nationally in yards allowed and have held every SEC East opponent not named Georgia to 20 points or less.
"They have the ability to dominate a football game," Jones said.
The Vols will face what Jones called "the best tandem of defensive ends we've faced to date" in Shane Ray and Markus Golden, who have picked up where 2013 SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam and NFL second-round pick Kony Ealy left off last season in leading Missouri to the SEC championship game.
Ray leads the SEC in sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (18), while Golden has 6.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
It'll be a daunting tasks for Tennessee tackles Jacob Gilliam, who's playing through a torn ACL, and Kyler Kerbyson, who's naturally a guard.
"It's going to be a great challenge," Jones said. "You're looking at two NFL players on the left side and the right side. It's going to be a great challenge, and we have to do a great job of mixing up the launch points, playing football the way we've played, and it also comes down to winning some one-on-one matchups as well.
"I know they're looking forward to the challenge."
Heading North
Receiver Marquez North started against Kentucky and had a key block on Von Pearson's first-quarter touchdown, but he went without a catch for a second consecutive game as he continues to battle a shoulder injury. He was targeted on a third-down pass on the Vols' second possession.
"The game afforded us a little bit to pick our spots with him to try to get him back to be as healthy as you could possibly be for this stretch run," Jones said. "We weren't going to risk anything. Could he have played more? Absolutely, but it was just one of those situations where where we were at the stage of the game, we didn't want to risk anything.
"We anticipate him becoming that much better."
Status updates
Freshman tailback Derrell Scott (broken hand) remains questionable for Saturday after missing the Kentucky game.
"He just couldn't carry the football," Jones said. "This week they're going to cut the (hard) cast down. He may go into a soft cast, so we'll know a little bit more about his availability."
Though defensive tackle Trevarris Saulsberry (knee) has resumed running, he's not expected to play against Missouri.
Backup guard and former Bradley Central High School standout Austin Sanders suffered what Jones called a "mild" ankle sprain, and his availability is unknown.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.