Five Reasons The Vols Could Win The SEC East
By Zach Ragan
Oct 25, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd (1) rushes against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
4. Running Game
If you’re excited about Tennessee’s wide receivers, then you should be ecstatic about the Vols’ running backs.
Tennessee, for the first time in years, has ELITE running backs on the roster.
Jalen Hurd, a 6’3″/227 lb beast of a running back from Hendersonville, TN, will once again pace the Vols’ rushing attack. Hurd rushed for 899 yards as a true freshman in 2014 — all behind a less than stellar offensive line.
Had Hurd, who also caught 35 passes for 221 yards, played the entirety of the Chattanooga and Vanderbilt games this past season, he would’ve cruised past 1,000 rushing yards.
The Tennessee native should be even more lethal in 2015. The Vols’ passing game is expected to be better, which will in turn open things up for Hurd.
Of course it’s not that running lanes are all that important to Hurd. He showed a penchant for running over helpless defensive backs (and sometimes linebackers) in 2014. His physical running style is something that’s long been missing on Rocky Top.
The even better news for Vol fans is that it won’t be just Hurd that Tennessee will lean on in 2015.
Five-star JuCo transfer Alvin Kamara, a one-time Alabama signee, will help aid the Volunteer’s running game.
Hurd and Kamara will form one of the SEC’s most feared one-two rushing attacks (how long has it been since Vol fans could say that?!?!).
The only concern for Tennessee in this area will be depth. Marlin Lane and Devrin Young have exhausted their eligibility and Derrell Scott left the program.
Tennessee will rely on true freshmen such as John Kelly, Vincent Perry and Joc Bruce as back-ups at the running back position.
Butch Jones also mentioned that Evan Berry and Malik Foreman could be back-up plans as well.
Barring injury, the Vols should have one of the best running games in the SEC in 2015.