Tennessee football: 10 Vols who should redshirt in 2020

There is a market for a specific type of running back for Tennessee football, and Jeremy Pruitt does like to go four-deep at that position. However, the market is in power backs, and Tee Hodge and Len’Neth Whitehead, both of whom are freshmen, will be competing on that front. It’s a completely different story for all-purpose backs.

Jabari Small is following in the tradition of Eric Gray as an all-purpose back from the Memphis, Tenn. area. A three-star commitment, he played at Briarcrest and enters the program standing at 5’10” and anywhere from 177 to 193 pounds. As a result, Small will need to get a bit stronger while maintaining his athleticism, and it will take a year for him to do that.

In addition to him needing to build size, Small is joining a program loaded with running backs of his style. Even after losing Tim Jordan, two senior running backs are in the system right now plus Gray. So Small is almost certainly not going to play this year despite the fact that Pruitt wants to go deep at the position. There’s just not much room for Small to make an impact.

As a result, he should take a redshirt. In 2021, even if one of those senior backs redshirts this year, Small will have at the very least two less players to worry about when it comes to competition for playing time. He can spend this year getting into football shape and picking up Jim Chaney’s system, and that could benefit him greatly in the future.