Tennessee football: Five key 2019 Vols who were three-stars or lower

Tim Jordan wasn’t just a three-star across all recruiting services. He was a two-star on Rivals. So, to Butch Jones’s credit, Jordan is another running back he found out of nowhere, similar to John Kelly. And that’s despite the fact that he didn’t even qualify for a national ranking, a ranking at his position, or a ranking within his home state of Florida.

Despite all of that, he was Tennessee football’s fundamental back last year to complement Ty Chandler, the speed back, and Madre London, the power back. This year, Chandler is returning, and Jeremy Banks is set to be the power back. Both of them were four-star recruits.

But Jeremy Pruitt has talked at length about wanting to go three or four-deep at running back. And Jordan provides that possibility. Last year, despite a horrible line, he had 132 carries for 522 yards and three touchdowns, and he added 116 receiving yards.

Now, Jordan does have more competition to play this year with Carlin Fils-Aime more settled back in at running back and freshman, Eric Gray, another four-star, emerging into an elite talent. But Jordan is still a mark of stability. He had a 100-yard game last year in the opener against the West Virginia Mountaineers, so he should be a key player for the Vols.