Two Tennessee football players eliminated against NC State

CHARLOTTE – The No. 12 Tennessee football team plays the No. 23 NC State team tonight in the Duke's Mayo Classic without running back/kick returner Cam Seldon and linebacker Kalib Perry.

A UT spokesman confirmed they are inactive. Seldon and Perry are reserves.

Cornerback Rickey Gibson missed the game against Chattanooga with a minor injury, but coach Josh Heupel said Gibson will be ready to play against NC State and has completed warm-ups.

First-year wide receivers Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley are also eligible to play tonight after missing the season opener against Chattanooga.

UT played with 95 players in Week 1, emptied the bench in a 69-3 win over Chattanooga and came away relatively healthy. But Tennessee is expected to shrink the rotation against NC State.

The Vols lost two players to injuries that ended the season.

Defensive back Jourdan Thomas, a projected starter at the nickelback position, suffered a knee injury in preseason practice. On Monday, UT confirmed that redshirt freshman defensive end Emmanuel Okoye will also be out for the rest of the season.

Adam Sparks is Tennessee's football reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparksSupport strong local journalism by subscribing to knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee Football Injury Update: Two Vols out against NC State