Tennessee football: Five key 2021 Vols who were three-stars or lower
Jabari Small. 2. player. Scouting Report. Running back. 839. Pick Analysis. Sophomore
5’11” 206 pounds; Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Yes, amidst all the talk about Jabari Small, he was a three-star across the board. The same holds true of Jaylen Wright and Tee Hodge. Len’Neth Whitehead, Dee Beckwith and Tiyon Evans all had four-star ratings on at least one service, but none were unanimous.
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Anyway, Small is the only returning back for Tennessee football who saw any significant action last year. The graduate of Briarcrest Christian in Eads, Tenn., which is still in Shelby County just outside of Memphis, had 26 carries for 117 yards and four catches for 24 yards. Given what he was working with, that production wasn’t bad.
Now, with Eric Gray and Ty Chandler transferring to the Oklahoma Sooners and North Carolina Tar Heels respectively, he and Evans are in competition to be the feature back. For Small, it’s a win-win, as he’ll be the all-purpose back if he doesn’t win the feature back role. Taking that into account, he’s going to be key to Josh Heupel’s offense no matter what.
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The Vols may be able to run a four-back set with two complete backs, a power back and an all-purpose speed back. Small could move between the complete and all-purpose back, so there’s going to be a place for him no matter what. As a three-star who is just a sophomore, that’s a pretty impressive jump.