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Tennessee football: Five areas Vols improved as 2019 season progressed

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 30: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates with Eric Gray #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers after scoring a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 30: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates with Eric Gray #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers after scoring a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

5. Breakout production from Eric Gray

Sometimes, specific players make the list of improvements. Eric Gray is one of those players. One of the most hyped up freshmen in Tennessee football’s 2018 recruiting class, Gray was expected to join Ty Chandler to make for an elite backfield on Rocky Top immediately. However, he took a while to get going despite how often Jim Chaney and Jeremy Pruitt tried to rely on him.

Gray had more than 50 yards in a game only one time, when he had 17 carries for 77 yards against the BYU Cougars. The coaches tried to use him a lot those first two games in general, as he had 80 total yards from scrimmage and 13 touches in the Vols’ opener against the Georgia State Panthers. But early on, things weren’t working out.

Until the final game of the season, Gray was averaging just over three yards a carry. In fact, there was not one game in which he averaged over four and a half yards a carry. That’s not a good stat line for a four-star who had the hype Gray had, particularly as an all-purpose back, who should be able to immediately make an impact.

Well, Gray made that impact at the end of the year. He had 246 yards and three touchdowns, a record for a freshman, against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Then he had 120 yards from scrimmage, a touchdown and an onside kick recovery in the Gator Bowl win over the Indiana Hoosiers. That dramatic breakout puts him on this list as a guy who improved in a big way.

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