Tennessee football: 10 Vols most likely to win postseason awards in 2022
Pick Analysis. Junior. player. Scouting Report. Running back. Jabari Small. 3. 839
5’11” 213 pounds
Josh Heupel is a quarterback guru, and that brings a ton of hype to his passing attack and what he can do with his quarterbacks. However, the run game has always been the catalyst for his offensive systems, and if Tennessee football’s offense is as efficient as it should be this year, it’ll mean they ran it a lot more than they threw it.
Enter Jabari Small. Last year, Small had 141 carries for 796 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging over five and a half yards a carry. He emerged as the only feature back after Tiyon Evans, who got the bulk of the carries earlier, got hurt and then entered the transfer portal.
In addition to being the one proven returning starter among the running backs while playing in a system that relies on the backs, Small will also be needed even more early. The Vols lost Len’Neth Whitehead for the year. Their transfer addition, Lyn-J Dixon, has left the program. Jaylen Wright has been banged up.
That has given Jerry Mack only freshmen to work with. As a result, Small will shoulder a bigger load, and he put on 15 pounds in the offseason, so he should be durable enough to do that. More touches combined with Tennessee football returning four starters on the offensive line, including everybody on the interior, give Small a huge advantage when trying to get recognized.