Tennessee football in disarray with safety Jaylen McCollough arrested on felony aggravated assault charge

A third Tennessee Volunteers player was arrested in just two months, leaving the football program in tatters. On Sunday afternoon, safety Jaylon McCollough was arrested on charges of felony aggravated assault.

The Knox County Sheriff's Department responded to a call at an apartment building at 3:30 pm on Sunday afternoon.

The injured victim told police that he was hanging out with friends all day and went to retrieve something from his vehicle that was parked in the building's parking lot. When he returned to the apartment, he accidentally walked into the wrong apartment.

When he realized he was in the wrong place, he allegedly apologized and began to leave.

The victim then said that he was assulated by a man in the apartment, who police determined was McCollough. He allegedly punched the man in the face and threw him down a flight of stairs.

When police arrived at the scene, McCollough's girlfriend was at the apartment but the Volunteers player had already left. He returned and police noticed his bloodied hand was wrapped up. He was then arrested on a felony charge of aggravated assault.

McCollough is a four-year starter for the Volunteers and helped Tennessee to a 40-13 win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday, recording seven tackles on the day. He has 23 tackles on the season and is tied for fourth on the Volunteers.

McCollough is the third Tennessee Volunteers player to be arrested this season.

On August 21, 2022, linebacker William Mohan, a transfer from Michigan, was arrested on a charge of felony aggravated domestic assault. On September 11, 2022, offensive lineman Savion Herring, a transfer from Monroe Community College, was arrested on a charge of domestic assault.

Both Mohan and Herring were dismissed from the football team. The University of Tennessee had no comment after McCollough's arrest.

Undefeated Tennessee sets their sights on Alabama

The Volunteers are 5-0 this season and will no doubt face their toughest opponent this Saturday: the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The #8 Volunteers will host #1 Alabama at Neyland Stadium and are seven-point underdogs. Tennessee is coming off a dominating win against LSU, while Alabama barely scraped a win over Texas A&M on Saturday.

The Volunteers haven't beaten Alabama in 15 years and if there were any seasons where they would pull off the upset, this could be it.

The Crimson Tide will start redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe who will make his second start in place of Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.

Since Young suffered a shoulder injury two weeks ago, Alabama's passing game has taken a hit. The Volunteers, on the other hand, have quarterback Hendon Hooker, who has his offense completely in sync this season.

This may end up being the most well-matched Alabama / Tennessee game in nearly 20 years.