Insider shares latest on Tennessee Vols linebackers coach William Inge amid health concerns
Tennessee Vols linebackers coach William Inge will miss the Texas game due to health concerns.
Tennessee Vols linebackers coach William Inge will miss the Texas game on Saturday due to health concerns, according to a report from the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Adam Sparks.
Tennessee released a statement on Thursday evening that confirmed Inge has been in the hospital while dealing with a “personal medical issue.”
VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will on Friday morning and he shared the latest on Inge.
“It’s been hard on everybody,” said Hubbs. “It’s been hard on coaches’ families. It’s been hard on the players. It’s been hard on the coaches. It’s a reminder that while you get programmed this time of year and become robotic in your schedule and in what you do, that there are things in this world bigger than the game you’re going to play on Saturday.
“I’ve not heard an update this morning. The family has requested prayer and privacy. It’s obviously been a difficult week for them. Tennessee players have been at the hospital a good bit this week. There were a lot of people over there yesterday, and certainly hoping for good news coming out today — if there’s any kind of update today. But I haven’t heard anything this morning.”
“From a coaching standpoint, just remember that Jim Knowles is a linebackers coach by trade,” continued Hubbs. “He’s not always been a walk-around coordinator. He’s often been a coordinator who coached a position. It’s what he did at Duke. It’s what he did at Oklahoma State. So he’s very hands-on with the linebackers. He brought a couple of analysts with him from Penn State who were with him at Oklahoma State and who were with him at Ohio State who are kind of rooted in linebacker play. They’ll make that work.
“And then we’re just all praying and hoping for a positive update this morning at some point today on William Inge. He’s one of the good guys in the business. He’s a much better human being than he is a football coach, and he’s a pretty dang good football coach.”
Inge, who played college football at Iowa, is in his third season as Tennessee’s linebackers coach. The Missouri native has a reputation for being a coach who cares deeply about his players.
“He’s a selfless coach,” said Vols linebacker Arion Carter of Inge in 2025. “He’s just a guy who wants to see you win more than he has ever had or a better career than he’s ever dreamt of. It’s great having a guy like that — a man like that — who is just a leader. A selfless guy, like I said before, who puts his players first and that wants to be able to see and put his guys in the right position to go win.”
Tennessee has an extremely close-knit linebackers room, and that’s because of the impact of William Inge.
Update:
Inge released a statement on Friday morning.
“I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers,” said Inge in a statement. “I am resting comfortably. I am fighting this illness just like our team fights on Saturdays on the field. I look forward to supporting our team and wish them well tomorrow.”
