There’s a lot of inexperience in Tennessee’ backfield heading into the 2021 campaign. Eric Gray and Ty Chandler left the program and the Vols bring back a sophomore who totaled only 26 carries in 2020.

Still, with the talk surrounding Jabari Small and junior college transfer Tiyon Evans during camp, you get the feeling Josh Heupel’s staff is alright with the options come this fall.

“They’ve done a really good job figuring out the scheme. I think Jerry Mack and Matt Merritt, those guys have done an incredible job teaching those guys,” offensive coordinator Alex Golesh said Wednesday. “That’s one position I’m uber excited about going into game day.”

Small made a good first impression in spring with the absence of Evans. The former Hutchinson Community College standout was sidelined for much of the session with a minor injury, but has made the most of August to position himself into a feature role in this offense.

“Tiyon, honestly in a lot of ways has surpassed my expectations,” Golesh continued. “He’s started to figure out what it is to be a Division I college football player.

“I think time has put it all together. Having only football for three weeks for Tiyon was really, really good. I’m excited to see what he can do. He’s a different back than those other guys in the room. He’s a bigger back and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with him.”

So, what makes him different? For starters, he’s 5-foot-11, 220 pounds. He’s got 15 pounds on Small, 20 pounds on freshman Jaylen Wright and has a lower-center of gravity when compared to sophomore Dee Beckwith. Running with good pad-level is something the coaching staff didn’t have to teach the newcomer.

“I think Tiyon can do it all to be honest with you – not only short yardage, but an every down back,” running backs coach Jerry Mack said earlier in camp. “I feel like he’s a guy who has the body type and skill set where you really don’t ever have to bring him out of the game.

“He runs with power between the tackles. He has a great skill set. He’s a guy that has great ball skills as well because he was a kick returner in Junior College. All of those different things that you want to do with a back – flex him out but at the same time run him between the tackles – we’ve been pleasantly surprised with that.”

A former top-JUCO prospect, Evans is a welcomed addition to the backfield that will need to eat up carries in this Heupel scheme that will run the football. But having missed the 2020 season due to COVID protocols and jumping ship to arguably the best college football conference, the tailback knows he has a chip on his shoulder.

“I love being the underdog. I’ve really been the underdog my whole life,” Evans said earlier in camp. “I’ve been under the radar. Being at Tennessee is the biggest thing I ever did. I love it because when you go out there and do something and you see all the people trying to come be on your side, that right there shows you that you’re doing something right.”

Throughout camp, Evans has repped with the ones on offense [with Jabari]. He scored a touchdown in scrimmage two, but also fumbled once on the rain-drenched Shields-Watkins playing surface. With the true freshman Wright standing firm as the third option and some unknowns after that, fans can expect to see Evans just as much as Small in this new-look offense.

“Both of those guys can go in the game right now as 1A and 1B and participate,” Mack said last week. “Jabari is obviously a little bit smaller, a little bit shiftier, has some experience playing the position. He can do a lot of different things as far as his repertoire.

“At the same time, you have Tiyon, who has just so much power running between the tackles. Those guys have really been a good 1-2 punch throughout fall camp.”