COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As he walked to the sideline, it was tough tell if Alvin Kamara, who always carries himself with a certain air of confidence, was just pleased with his most recent elusive run or was spent after a heavy workload.

The redshirt junior back had just crossed the goal line for the third time after weaving through defenders and out of tackles, and in the process brought the Vols even with Texas A&M after trailing by 21 points.

Kamara was finally given the opportunity to carry the offense, and he did so in electrifying fashion. The numbers are staggering: 127 rushing yards on 18 carries, 161 receiving yards on eight catches and 22 yard between kick and punt returns.

Saturday, Kamara went from backup to bell cow.

“What can I say about Alvin?” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said following the Vols 45-38, double-overtime loss to Texas A&M. “From running the football to receiving the football and also from a punt return standpoint, too. His grittiest performance probably of his career.”

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Kamara is the first player from a Power 5 school in the past 20 years to have 150 receiving yards and 125 rushing yards in the same game.

His 312 all-purpose yards set a school record, breaking Chuck Webb's previous mark of 294 total yards against Ole Miss in 1989.

For a guy who has spent most of his career as a backup, it might come as a surprise. That's not the case for anyone on the Tennessee roster.

That's just what he does.

“No surprise at all,” Tennessee safety Todd Kelly Jr. said.

“Even though he's not our No. 1 running back, he knows, 'Hey, one time my opportunity is going to come and when it does I have to make it the best I possibly can.' That's what he did tonight.”

Kamara got the starting nod after a week of injury talk hovered over the Vols and starting running back Jalen Hurd, who didn't make the trip to College Station with an undisclosed injury.

It didn't change Kamara's approach, who exemplified Tennessee's “next man up” mentality. He went about his work the same way he does every week, regardless of how many touches he thinks he will get.

This week, he got a career-high number of carries and receptions.

“I prepare the same every week and prepare like I'm the No. 1 guy,” Kamara said. “Of course we miss Jalen. We miss having Jalen, but we have a next-man-up mentality, so the next man up, I was just going to do my job. It wasn't more stress this week than it was last week.

“We all prepare like we're the No. 1 guy every week.”

Kamara did most of his work in the second half, after the Vols fell behind 28-7 early in the third quarter. Over half his rushing yards came after halftime and all three of his touchdowns came in the second half as the Vols stormed back to tie the game with 41 seconds in regulation — on an 18-yard touchdown catch and run by none other than Kamara.

The only blemish on Kamara — and the Vols offense as a whole — was an inability to take care of the ball. Kamara fumbled in the first quarter as he fought to make an already 50-yard gain longer inside the Aggies' 10-yard line. The Vols fumbled six times, losing five.

The Vols still managed to rack up 684 yards of offense — a record against a Texas A&M defense — despite seven total turnovers.

With No. 1 Alabama looming — Kamara's former team — he knows they have to correct the mistakes. If they do, who knows what can happen.

“It's tough, but at the same time it's uplifting,” he said. “We know we're the ones that are shooting ourselves in the foot.”