Tennessee football: Tiyon Evans in transfer portal a testament to how Vols reloaded at RB

It’s hard to overstate how amazing of a job Josh Heupel did at running back this year. Tennessee football lost both of its star backs and its two best offensive players from last year to the transfer portal: Eric Gray to the Oklahoma Sooners and Ty Chandler to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Now, the Vols have lost another key back to the portal, but the run game is so elite it hasn’t generated any panic among Rocky Top. Tiyon Evans, who joined the Vols this year out of junior college, has entered the portal.

There’s no panic despite Evans being the leading rusher still on the team this year, as he has 81 carries for 525 yards (6.5 yards per carry) and six touchdowns along with four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. He announced his decision to leave Tennessee football on social media.

In recent weeks, Evans’ play has decreased, but that’s due to injuries he’s battled. He didn’t play the past two games, had just one carry against the Kentucky Wildcats and just seven against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Despite being elite when fully healthy, Evans hasn’t been able to get on the field consistently all year. He also missed the Ole Miss Rebels game and the Pittsburgh Panthers game earlier in the season and has really been battling injuries since the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Without him, though, the Vols have seen the emergence of Jabari Small. Early in the year, it was clear that Evans was the better back, but in recent weeks, Small has become the elite playmaker. Over the past three games, he has enjoyed 27 carries for 177 yards (6.55 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. That’s even with playing one game against the elite Georgia Bulldogs defense.

Beyond Small, though, freshman phenom Jaylen Wright has begun to emerge as well. The speedy back has 25 carries for 147 yards (5.88 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He’s in line to become Tennessee football’s next elite playmaker.

Add in Len’Neth Whitehead rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown on six carries last week against the South Alabama Jaguars, and the Vols may have found their power back. Heupel now has a complete back in small, a speed back in Wright and a power back in Whitehead.

Although Evans was the best of the bunch, the future is with these guys. Vol fans not worrying about his transfer is an amazing testament to just how well they reloaded. After all, you’ve got a team that lost its two best running backs from last year and its best running back before the end of this year but is still fine at the position.

We can’t say for sure why Evans transferred, and everybody should wish him the best wherever he goes. However, what is clear is that Tennessee football is still fine at running back for the future, and Heupel has the guys he needs to get his offense going.