Tennessee football: Jabari Small on Doak Walker watch list, has best shot since Travis Stephens

For all the talk surrounding Josh Heupel’s passing attack and what he does with quarterbacks, his system is predicated on the running game. As a result, Tennessee football running backs are destined to gain national attention playing for him.

That’s happening with Jabari Small right now, who is one of 74 players on the 2022 Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List as he returns to be the likely started at running back for UT this year. The award is given out annually to the nation’s best running back and dates back to 1990.

Named after legendary SMU Mustangs running back Doak Walker, who played from 1945 and then 1947 to 1949 before spending six years in the pros, the award has never gone to a Tennessee football player. Travis Stephens came closest when he finished second to Luke Staley of the BYU Cougars in 2001.

Anyway, Small emerged last year for the Vols after Tiyon Evans got hurt and then entered the transfer portal. With Jaylen Wright and eventually Len’Neth Whitehead helping to back him up, Small finished with 141 carries for 796 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns. He added nine catches for 77 yards.

What helps is the way Heupel runs his offense. Yes it’s about tempo, and yes quarterbacks and receivers can become stars in it. Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman put even more of a spotlight on the passing game in Heupel’s system with their success last year.

However, Heupel clearly uses the run to set up the pass, which is a big way to keep defenses off-guard psychologically given the fact that he spreads the field and plays fast. Using a north-south running system only furthers that notion.

Last year, the Vols ran the ball 58 percent of the time, second in the SEC only to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Heupel’s most successful season ever as a head coach, when he went undefeated with the UCF Knights in the 2018 regular season, saw him run it 59.7 percent of the time, which was 24th in the nation.

Simply put, Heupel likes to make the run game the base of his offense if he can help it, and that is a big boost for Tennessee football running backs like Small. Add in the fact that Evans is gone and Small proved himself down the stretch of last season.

Of course, Small will have to fight the opposition to Vols from national media when it comes to awards. We know about Peyton Manning with the Heisman in 1997 and Johnny Majors with the Heisman in 1956. Then there’s Dustin Colquitt with the Ray Guy Award in 2003.

Stephens, though, should have won the Doak Walker as well. In 2001, he set the UT single-season rushing record, gaining 1,464 yards while scoring six touchdowns. Staley did have 1,596 yards and 24 touchdowns, but level of competition matters, and Stephens had that in his favor by a mile.

In fairness, Heupel’s scheme is much more stats-friendly than Tennessee football’s offense was back in 2001, so that’s the one thing that could work significantly in Small’s favor. If Hooker is as efficient as he was a year ago, chances are it will be because of what Small set up.