Tennessee football’s top five performers in 38-6 win vs. Bowling Green
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Sophomore. Jabari Small. 839. Running back. 3. player
22 carries for 116 yards , 1 TD; 1 reception for 5 yards
It’s early, and the Bowling Green Falcons had the worst rush defense in the nation last year. However, Jabari Small, who appeared to be more of an all-purpose back while spelling Eric Gray and Ty Chandler, at least seemed to prove he could be Tennessee football’s feature back and withstand the punishment that comes with that.
Small averaged over five yards a carry, and he was great on his vision and cuts all night. His touchdown run involved him piling over a defender trying to tackle him, and he was the guy who got the offense going on the first two drives.
In addition to running the ball well, Small also showed his ability to pick up blocks on passing plays. He’s not great at it yet, but he definitely is able to do it, and that’s a big jump from where he was last year.
Now, not everything was great. Small did miss some blocks, and he also failed to convert on a 4th and 2 running play. Those two things work against him when you look at the horrendous defense he went up against. At the same time, he was able to do everything in the run game and went over 100 yards, so he makes this list.