The Tennessee offense headlined college football with its passing game a year ago.
Behind record-shattering quarterback Hendon Hooker and a wide receiver tandem that included Biletnikoff Award winner Jalen Hyatt and 2021 All-SEC player Cedric Tillman, the Vols averaged 326.1 passing yards per game during their Orange Bowl campaign.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION
With much of that production gone, Tennessee has leaned more on it run game this season behind a deep and experienced running backs room that includes Jaylen Wright, Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson.
Wright leads group with 435 yards on 61 carries and a touchdown. He averages more than 7.0 yards per carry and has already rushed for more 100 yards in three games, including a 123-yard performance in the Vols' 41-20 win over South Carolina last week.
Small—the most experienced of the three backs—has 317 yards on 53 carries along with two touchdowns and an average of 6.0 yards. His highest total so far this season was 95 yards vs. Austin Peay.
Sampson has been explosive in games where he has had more than 10 carries. He went for a career-high 139 yards and two scores on 11 attempts against UTSA. He leads all backs with six touchdowns.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: John Campbell Jr., Arion Carter detail first SEC game at Neyland Stadium
Comparatively, Tennessee has has more run production at this point in the season than it had in the previous two under head coach Josh Heupel. The Vols currently lead the SEC in rushing with 1,156 yards.
Here is a closer look at how this team compares to the 2021 and 2022 teams in the run game.
The numbers in 2021 were inflated by Tyon Evans' dominant performance vs. Missouri. Evans, who ended up entering the transfer portal before that season ended, rushed for 156 yards in the Vols' 62-24 win.
In 2022, Small took a bulk of the carries in the first half of the season, totaling 311 yards and averaging nearly 5 yards per carry. He rushed for a season-high 127 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries against LSU.
Tennessee relying on its run game more this season is due to several factors, such as opposing defenses emphasizing the deep ball and trying to limit quarterback Joe Milton III downfield shots, which the Vols burnt secondaries on the last two seasons.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Cooper Mays leaned on teammates, family during injury recovery
The passing numbers have also been affected by early struggles—dropped passes or occasional over throws in the first couple of games, though Milton has hit on those as of late.
The Vols have challenges ahead, starting with Texas A&M next Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). The Aggies have one of the top run defenses in the league, holding opponents to less than 100 yards per game.
The only two teams ranked ahead of Texas A&M in stopping the run currently are Kentucky and Missouri, both of which Tennessee will play over the next month.
–––––
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens, @Hunter_DeNote.
–––––
