Tennessee will open its 2024 campaign against Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium on Aug. 31.

In anticipation of the season opener, VolReport is highlighting a former Vols player whose jersey number matches the amount of days until kickoff.

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With two days to go, Montario Hardesty, who was one of the most productive running backs in program history and an All-SEC selection in 2009, is selected.

Hardesty was a prolific rusher at New Bern High School in North Carolina, totaling more than 2,000 yards as a senior before signing with Tennessee in 2005.

Hardesty's freshman season with the Vols ended before it really began. He suffered a knee injury in just the third game of the season against Ole Miss that sidelined him for the remainder of the season, but he found his footing the following year.

Back to full health in 2006, Hardesty rushed for a 43-yard touchdown in Tennessee's 35-18 season-opening win over California, setting the stage for a bigger role in the Vols' offense. He became the first Vols running back since Travis Henry to rush for touchdowns in four-straight games that year.

Hardesty's production took a step back in 2007 and 2008 as he battled with start Arian Foster for reps in Tennessee's backfield. After Foster's departure following the 2008 season, Hardesty entered his senior year as the headliner of the Vols' run game.

Hardesty started 13 games and rushed for 1,345 yards--the fourth-best mark among Tennessee running backs all-time. He turned in four 100-yard rushing performances, including 179 yards against Kentucky.

Among Hardesty's most memorable outings was his spin move on a 14-yard touchdown to put the Vols up two scores on South Carolina, helping open the way for a 31-13 rout at Neyland Stadium on Halloween night.

Hardesty was a second round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft. He began his coaching career as a special teams coordinator at Norfolk State in 2015.

After a stint at Florida Atlantic, Hardesty returned to Tennessee to join former head coach Jeremy Pruitt's staff as a quality control coach in 2018. He was more recently the wide receivers coach at South Carolina for three seasons.

Hardesty's name is still among the top of Tennessee running backs. His 2,391 yards over five season rank ninth all-time while his 26 touchdowns rank seventh.

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