In Shredding Mizzou, Jalen Hurd Is Present and Future Workhorse for the Vols

In a game where Tennessee knew it was going to have to play big-boy football to win against a rugged Missouri defense, Jalen Hurd produced a grown-man effort for the Volunteers.

They rode their sophomore running back to a ground-controlled, 19-8 win in frigid Faurot Field on Saturday night to get to seven wins on the season. It was the coldest game UT has played in since 1950, and Hurd gave the Vols a throwback performance.

It was hard-hitting. It was ugly. In other words, it's just the kind of game that a 6'3", 242-pound running back should like. Hurd rose to the occasion, gaining a career-high 151 yards on 34 carries to help propel UT to its fourth consecutive win.

This was a dominant showing against the 14th-ranked rush defense in the nation. Mizzou doesn't allow teams to get the kind of yardage that Hurd racked up Saturday night, much less individual runners. 

On his first run from scrimmage, Hurd gained six yards. On his second, he gained five. That pretty much set the tone for Tennessee, which had every reason to be concerned about Mizzou's vaunted defensive line heading into the game.

Instead of the expected struggles, however, the Vols got star sophomore guard Jashon Robertson back from injury, and the offensive line looked as good as it has all season. It paved the way for Hurd, who churned out tough yard after tough yard.

When he got the opportunity to burst free for a big gain, he didn't squander that, either.

A 31-yard, tackle-breaking, edge-surging run stands out as the highlight in a game full of clouds of dust kicked up by Hurd's sturdy legs. 

Hurd was a one-man wrecking crew, and on a night when controlling the clock was vital against a Missouri offense that wasn't going to put up a bunch of yards, Tennessee's mammoth runner came up huge. He helped move the chains time and time again.

The Tigers defenders will still feel the after-effects of hitting Hurd tomorrow and maybe even the day after. That's what he does: He punishes defenses while he gets stronger.

He doesn't chatter on or off the field too much, as Wes Rucker of 247Sports pointed out; again Saturday night, he let his play alone do the talking:

"

#Vols' Jalen Hurd didn't want to do any interviews tonight. He usually doesn't. That's his choice until he gets to the NFL.

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) November 22, 2015"

Plenty of others did talking for him and about him afterward, starting with coach Butch Jones. Hurd represented one of the third-year coach's first big recruiting wins (along with Todd Kelly Jr.), and he's paying major dividends in his second year on Rocky Top.

Teaming with explosive Alvin Kamara, Hurd has stayed fresher, and the numbers have improved because of it. Coach Jones was proud of Hurd:

Entering the season, Hurd didn't get anywhere near the headlines as fellow SEC sophomores Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette, and both of those stars rightfully got their due.

But Chubb went down for the season on UGA's first play from scrimmage against UT on Neyland Stadium's shoddy surface, and Fournette has found tough sledding in three consecutive games after a Heisman Trophy start to the season.

Meanwhile, Hurd has stayed steady, though not spectacular, throughout the year. He's not had the kind of season Fournette or Alabama stud junior Derrick Henry have enjoyed, but in a year where Tennessee's rushing resurgence is the story of its offense, Hurd is the centerpiece.

The Vols entered the night second in the league, averaging 210 rushing yards per game, solidly behind LSU but ahead of an Arkansas team that was expected to dominate on the ground all year. UT even closed that gap with the Tigers a little today, finishing with 246 yards on the ground while LSU had 184 against Ole Miss.

Just how steady has Hurd been? At a school known for producing great running backs, Hurd is getting within viewing distance of a major milestone, according to Nashville's 104.5 radio show host Brent Dougherty:

Hurd eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season with his performance against Mizzou, and while he's only averaging 4.4 yards per carry, he keeps proving he belongs in the conversation with the league's best runners.

The season mark he hit Saturday night was a point of pride for UT senior left tackle Kyler Kerbyson, who tweeted this postgame picture of the O-linemen carrying Hurd:

He's Tennessee's workhorse, and he's the perfect player for the way offensive coordinator Mike DeBord likes to call plays. 

As long as DeBord is UT's coordinator, the Vols are going to run the football a lot. With a young, developing offensive line, it's not difficult to envision Hurd's yards-per-carry average improving, as he becomes the school's all-time leading rusher, perhaps as early as next year.

With his size and durability, there's no reason why he can't.

Hurd proved so far this season that he can move beyond the shoulder injuries that hampered him during high school and somewhat as a freshman in 2014. Most importantly, he's proven he can put the team on his shoulders and carry it to a win.

That's exactly what he did against Mizzou.

All stats gathered from NCAA.com for game stats and CFBStats.com for season stats, unless otherwise noted. 

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