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Tennessee football: Five ways 2022 SEC preseason poll grossly disrespects Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Smokey runs the end zone after a touchdown during the Tennessee Volunteers' game against Alabama in Neyland Stadium on Saturday, October 20, 2018.Kns Utvsbamafootball Bp Jpg
Smokey runs the end zone after a touchdown during the Tennessee Volunteers' game against Alabama in Neyland Stadium on Saturday, October 20, 2018.Kns Utvsbamafootball Bp Jpg /
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Nov 6, 2021; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) runs the ball in for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2021; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) runs the ball in for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Jabari Small snubbed from All-SEC teams

Most of the players on here have a case over Jabari Small. However, there’s one egregious exception: Kenny McIntosh of the Georgia Bulldogs. Small had more than twice as many rushing yards and three times as many rushing touchdowns. He also had 300 more yards from scrimmage for those of you throwing in McIntosh’s receiving numbers.

Add in his four more total touchdowns from scrimmage, and Small is clearly more deserving than McIntosh heading into the year. You could make a case for McIntosh given his yards per carry average, but the difference is 5.645 yards per carry vs. 5.655 yards per carry. Is that really a big difference, particularly when Small had so many more carries?

Of course it isn’t. There’s no way you could put McIntosh over the returning starter for Tennessee football who didn’t even take the starting job until midway through the season, after Tiyon Evans got hurt and then transferred. That alone is more than enough to label this disrespect because it’s even more clear-cut than guys who were above Banks on the linebacker list.

You could also criticize TCU Horned Frogs transfer Zach Evans, now with the Ole Miss Rebels getting on the list over Small. Sure, he averaged nearly one and a half more yards a carry, but that was against Big 12 competition, and Small had nearly 100 more yards and three more touchdowns from scrimmage. As a result, he belongs over both.

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