Tennessee Football: Vols Backfield Poised to Lead a Rushing Resurgence

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The role reversal may have been unexpected for the Tennessee football team last Saturday, but it provided the clearest image of the versatility that will be featured in the Volunteers' 2015 offensive backfield.

There was JUCO transfer Alvin Kamara, starting the Orange & White Game by barreling into the line of scrimmage for various tough-yardage runs. As Kamara tired, sophomore incumbent starter Jalen Hurd surged untouched around the end (in a no-contact green jersey) for 40 yards on three carries.

What kind of bizarro world was this?

Wasn't Hurd supposed to be the power runner who shoulders most of the load? Wasn't Kamara supposed to enter as the electrifying, one-cut running back who was UT's big-gain threat?

Here's the answer: They're interchangeable, they're both really talented and they both can play either role this season—hard yards or big gains, first or second team.

They complement each other, and this spring proved that.

Toss in dual-threat junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs, and the Vols' running game could enjoy a complete turnaround from a season ago.

With all that talent, why even throw the ball until you have to?

Yes, the offensive line is a major question mark, but if UT's offensive line is improved from a season ago, the Vols have two running backs who are capable of producing 1,000-yard seasons. And they've got a quarterback in charge who has a history of making the running game click.

"I feel like we can be deadly," Kamara said of Tennessee's new dynamic duo. "It was just a taste out there [Saturday] of what we can do together. Jalen is not 100 percent yet, but once he gets back to 100, we will give a show.

"We will go out there and hopefully put 'CMG' on the map."

The Tennessee football team is full of slogans and sayings, but one of the most important when it comes to wins and losses is the acronym Kamara uttered. It stands for "Chain Moving Gang," and it's what the Vols running backs are calling themselves.

Every team needs big-play ability, but getting first downs and sustaining drives are elements that were lacking in Tennessee's offense a season ago.

Hurd and Kamara should be able to do that and so much more.

The Dobbs Difference

Wade Payne/Associated Press

Everybody around Knoxville may be buzzing about Tennessee's running back duo, but don't forget Dobbs.

When the dynamic, dual-threat quarterback took over last year, it drew a clear line of demarcation in UT's rushing totals, and he should be a catalyst again in 2015.

A season ago, Tennessee's rush offense went from the biggest disappointment on the team to an area that carried the Vols down the stretch.

While a new, inexperienced offensive line deserves a lot of the credit for that, the unit wasn't handed any favors by having statuesque quarterback Justin Worley in the pocket during the first half of the season.

Enter Dobbs. When he took over, everything changed.

	# of Games	Rush Average	Rushing TDs	Record
Games Dobbs didn't play	7	94 yards per game	8	3-4
Games Dobbs played	6	209 yards per game	12	4-2

Not only did the Vols get better because of his ability to scamper away from trouble and pick up important yardage on the ground, they got better individually.

Before Dobbs took over, Hurd averaged 59 yards per game on 14 carries per game. Afterward, that went up to an 81-yard average on 15 carries per game. His yards-per-carry average went from 4.3 to 5.2.

Suddenly, defenses had to account for an extra threat that wasn't there when Worley was behind center. Rocky Top Insider's Daniel Lewis wrote after Dobbs' 2014 debut against Alabama:

"

[Dobbs] gives the Vols another ball carrier on the field and, when he runs, they have an extra blocker as well. That's something the defense must plan for.

But perhaps just as important is how he takes defenders eyes off of other playmakers. That opened up the rest of the run game. Against an Alabama defense that came into the game [on October 25] giving up an average of just 64 rushing yards per game, the Vols were able to pile up just over 180 yards on the ground for one of their best performances of the season. It was no coincidence that it coincided with Dobbs' appearance in the game.

"

Though that was just after one game of Dobbs, it proved prophetic.

The Vols were much more dynamic offensively with Dobbs behind center, and the majority of that success materialized on the ground. When you consider UT finished 92nd nationally in rush offense and 103rd in rush average, imagine how much worse it would have been without Dobbs.

The X-Factor

Credit: 247Sports

Now, UT adds another talented runner into the offensive backfield in Kamara.

Way back in 2013 when Tennessee was recruiting Kamara out of Norcross High School (Georgia), UT coach Butch Jones made him a high priority upon arriving in Knoxville because he was the ideal back to run his system.

Even with several friends and high school rivals on the Vols roster, Kamara was locked in on Georgia and Alabama, eventually choosing the Crimson Tide.

He transferred after one year, however, and following a JUCO season at Kansas' Hutchinson Community College, Kamara committed to UT.

This spring, Jones saw all he needed to know Kamara has what it takes to excel in the SEC.

"I see a young man who's very determined, very determined," Jones said earlier this spring. "He's had great consistency every day here. He's come in and put a full workload in each and every day. Our players have gravitated toward him. He's been a great teammate. He's been a great presence in the locker room. He has displayed great work ethic, and he's displayed some toughness.

"He's battling through some injuries, and he's still working through spring and doesn't say two words. He just smiles and says, 'Gotcha, Coach.' So, he's been a great addition to our football family."

Not mentioned anywhere in that assessment of Kamara is the fact that he's an absolutely explosive player with the ball in his hands, too.

During one scrimmage earlier this spring, he had two defenders sealing off the edge until he turned it up a gear and shot 12 more yards down the sideline before being tackled.

Though he was a bit banged up in the Orange & White Game and never got on track, coaches and teammates raved about his quickness all spring.

Once he gets to the second level—which can happen sooner than defenders expect—Kamara is difficult to bring down. UT star outside linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin found that out the hard way during the first week of camp.

"I got past him today," Kamara told the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Patrick Brown back in late March. "He was like, 'Dang, I didn't know you were that fast.' I was like, 'Yeah.' When those pads come, I ain't trying to get hit."

The best thing for the Vols is that Hurd hasn't bristled at the idea of sharing carries.

As a matter of fact, it's been the exact opposite. A year of having to carry the entire running game at times will make any running back realize his need for assistance.

The biggest positive about Kamara, though, is he is big enough to absorb it when he does get hit. The redshirt sophomore is 5'11", 210 pounds, and he proved all spring he could be an every-down back with Hurd on the sidelines.

Similarly, Hurd never really broke free for many big gains during his freshman year, but he flashed the wheels in the spring game that look like he's gained a step or two.

That versatility of all three is what has Vols fans excited. A Twitter search of the runners' names churns out an array of euphoric excitement about possibilities.

When you consider that Hurd amassed 899 rushing yards in 2014 despite having a porous offensive line and only getting seven combined carries while being banged up against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, his totals from a season ago are even more impressive.

Had he remained healthy, Hurd would have been over 1,000 yards, and everybody would be mentioning him in the same breath as Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette.

The Vols aren't deep at running back, but they have tremendous talent at the top of the depth chart. If everybody stays healthy, UT can turn a team that finished next-to-last in the league in rush offense a year ago to one that hovers near the top in '15.

Quotes and observations obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. All statistics gathered from UTSports.com or CFBStats.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information obtained from 247Sports.com.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.