With one season under his belt, Khalifa Keith heads into his sophomore campaign with playtime for the taking.

Due to a banged-up running back room, there are a group of young players on the roster who have the chance to carve out a role for Tennessee this year.

For Keith, he is looking to exploit this opportunity by being intentional with every rep he gets over the off-season. This includes the minute details that can sometimes be overlooked.

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"Just being intentional with my reps, every rep I'm taking," Keith said. "Just being dialed in on the little details. Whether that's pass-pro technique, get my pads low on contact, everything has kind of been taking care of itself this camp."

In specific, Keith honed in on his short-area quickness. The goal is to defeat linebackers once he gets to the second level to burst for big gains.

He already knows he possesses unteachable size and effective pad level, so adding this part of the position to his game could help him see the field this year.

This off-season also marked a change at the top of his position group. With running backs coach Jerry Mack taking a job in the NFL with the Jaguars, De'Rail Sims was hired to replace him.

The first thing that stood out to Sims about Keith was his staggering size and explosiveness.

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"In terms of Khalifa, you sit up there and see a guy that’s 230 pounds that’s explosive in terms of his first 20 yards," Sims said. "He does a really good job of running behind his pads and he does a really good job of putting his face on people in pass protection."

Since this initial impression in the spring, Sims has already seen growth out of Keith. Before, he was thinking too much and not playing loose and free.

Now, with the concepts learned at a deeper level, he's able to make plays happen without getting in his head.

"I think Khalifa is totally different from what he was in the spring, holistically," Sims said. "I think in the spring, mentally, he knew what to do but he was trying to think too much instead of just cutting it loose and going out there and playing. Like right now he’s actually going out there playing. He’s cutting it loose, he’s maximizing his runs when there’s nothing there he’s going in there banging it up in the line of scrimmage, trying to run through the smoke and doing a really good job of getting us either some positive gains or helping us stay out of negative yardage situations."

Behind Dylan Sampson, Keith is one of the players in the mix at running back. Alongside fellow second year players DeSean Bishop and Cameron Seldon and true freshman Peyton Lewis, there is opportunity to earn an increased role early in his career.

Keith accepts this challenge and it once again comes down to the intentionality of every rep he gets. He isn't letting a moment go by without trying to make an impression and improve his game.

"I'm just going to be prepared when my time comes, when my name is called," Keith said. "Like I said, just taking advantage of every rep I get. Whether that's the ones, twos, threes, it doesn't matter. Going out there, put my best foot forward and let the outcome be the outcome. I'm a team player and that's what I signed up for."

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