Tennessee Football: Is the Volunteers' Rush Attack Back?

The NCAA released a list of 69 candidates to watch for the 2015 Doak Walker Award given to the nation's top running back this week, and nary a Tennessee football player was to be found.

It's understandable that touted JUCO transfer Alvin Kamara wouldn't be on the list, having never played a Division I down.

But the exclusion of rising sophomore Jalen Hurd is inexplicable, especially considering nine SEC running backs, including Mississippi State's Ashton Shumpert and Vanderbilt's Ralph Webb, were on it.

Credit: 247Sports

The snub is one that won't be lost on Hurd, the mammoth runner from Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Last year, he used the whispers that he was too tall to be effective as a running back and the comment from a USC coach on national signing day that he was "so soft and terrible" as fuel for what turned out to be a stellar season.

He finished with 1,120 total yards and seven touchdowns in 2014 running behind a suspect offensive line that had to break in five new starters.

Once quarterback Joshua Dobbs took over against Alabama in the middle of the season, UT's rushing game enjoyed a revival (along with the rest of the offense).

If the ground attack can continue on that upward trajectory, it will bode well for a program that has experienced some major doldrums thanks partly to its inability to run the ball.

Dating back to 2008, Tennessee has ranked no higher than eighth in the league in rushing offense. In what Tennessee head coach Butch Jones referred to at this week's SEC media days as a "line-of-scrimmage league," the Vols have fallen flat.

Season	Yards	YPR	SEC Ranking
2008	1,475	3.6	Ninth
2009	2,045	4.3	Ninth
2010	1,420	3.9	12th
2011	1,081	2.8	12th
2012	1,924	4.7	Eighth
2013	2,261	4.9	Ninth
2014	1,903	3.6	13th

With that lengthy level of inefficiency, why are Tennessee coaches more optimistic things can change this year? The answer is many-pronged.

Now that the line is a year more mature, and with the addition of Kamara to take some of the load off Hurd, Jones seemed confident when discussing his runners.

Before getting up to the podium to talk to the horde of media members in Hoover, Alabama, he told the SEC Network's Anthony McFarland and Marcus Spears some of the reasons behind his renewed faith in running the ball:

"

We have much more confidence going into this season with the ability to run the ball. And, as you guys know playing in this great conference, you have to stop the run and you have to be able to run the football effectively. We have much more confidence going in—obviously a year older, a year more in the weight room, the experience, and obviously having two very, very good running backs with Jalen and Alvin is going to help matters, as well.

And then any time you can mix in a quarterback who can make plays with this legs, it helps. We always talk about, to really be an effective offense, you have to have at least three players who can handle the ball. And I think that's really at any level of football. If you have three players that can really handle the ball, you're going to have a chance week in and week out.

"

The development of Dobbs and the fact that UT has some talented tailbacks in the backfield aren't the only reasons for excitement.

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When you go an entire recruiting cycle without signing an offensive lineman the way former Vols coach Derek Dooley did in 2012, it takes years to recover.

Throw in the unfortunate lack of tiered talent throughout UT's line that led to four senior starters in 2013 and Tiny Richardson leaving a year early for the NFL, and that was the perfect recipe for disaster last year. 

Not only was UT 122nd in sacks allowed a season ago with 43, the Vols were also a paltry 92nd in rush offense, getting a shade more than 146 yards per game on the ground.

Dobbs moved the pocket and kept defenses honest, and those numbers crept up toward the end of last year. With more depth and talent along the front this year to go along with three potential senior starters in Kyler Kerbyson, Marcus Jackson and Mack Crowder, UT should only keep trending in the right direction.

All those big boys up front getting better and better certainly won't hurt matters. The Vols must replace former walk-on warrior-turned-starter Jacob Gilliam at right tackle, but Brett Kendrick had a great spring, and UT also welcomed highly touted prospects Drew Richmond and Jack Jones into the mix.

The inconsistent Crowder is being pushed by sophomore Coleman Thomas (who played out of position at tackle a year ago), and there is competition across the entire front.

They've got a big boy to block for in Hurd. Jones noted to the media that his emerging star is 12 pounds heavier than his UTSports.com profile notes.

After dominating the TaxSlayer Bowl victory over Iowa, Hurd had shoulder surgery that kept him out for much of the spring, making it surgeries on both shoulders the past two years. But he looked sharp in limited action in the Orange & White Game and is healthy and ready to roll.

While he was out, Kamara proved why Tennessee was thrilled to get him from Georgia and others out of Hutchinson Community College. Not only did he display the ability to turn up the jets and get to the edge or the second level, he was durable shouldering almost all of the load throughout the spring.

Cincinnati senior transfer Ralph David Abernathy IV and the freshman duo of John Kelly and Joseph Young will provide depth and a varying skill set to complement Hurd and Kamara, so UT has plenty of options. 

The Vols have a dynamic dual-threat quarterback, and they also have an experienced (if unproven) offensive line with a depth chart full of talented youngsters in case the upperclassmen falter.

If UT truly lives up to the expectations surrounding the program this year, it'll be because of a renewed dedication to running the ball and being able to sustain drives by grinding out yards on the ground.

Neither Hurd nor Kamara may be showered with national praise this offseason, but their production on the field will ultimately determine just how good the Vols will be in 2015.

All quotes obtained via SEC Network Broadcast unless otherwise noted. All statistics gathered from CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information obtained from 247Sports.

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