Tennessee may have found its top tailback in Jabari Small. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to be done.
While all of the reviews have been positive about Small and his recent weight gain, the Vols will need more than just Small this season. Here is what running backs coach Jerry Mack had to say about Tennessee other tailbacks:
On Jaylen Wright, who has been slowed by a quadricep injury
“When you talk about Jaylen Wright, progressing every day. Like, every day he gets a little bit better from a standpoint of he’s able to do more. Today he’s able to do a little bit more than he was a couple of days ago. So, I think I feel confident in saying that he’ll be ready by the time we enter the first game. You know, it’s a process with him and he’s going through every phase a little bit more.”
On freshman running back Justin Williams-Thomas
“I mean, from a standpoint of him running with more confidence, we saw flashes of the Justin we saw in high school. We saw him have an explosive play in the scrimmage the other day. We saw him being able to catch the ball out of the backfield a little bit today in practice, doing some things like that.
“I think where he has to get better is, where all young guys usually have to get better, and that’s pass protection. More so than technique, I think we’ve done a good job of him understanding, at a minimum, where his eyes belong. He was here in the spring, so he had an opportunity to go through some of that spring, summer camp as well, and now into fall camp. I don’t have an issue of him knowing who to block, now it’s just about the mannerism and about how to actually get there.
“I think that’s the biggest thing for him right now, to continue to work his technique. We talk about hands inside, squeezing the elbows tight, keeping our butts to the quarterback. All those little things that they probably don’t talk to you as much (about) in high school because he was mainly the primary runner, is things he has to learn how to do playing without the ball. It’s going to be really important for him.”
On freshman running back Dylan Sampson
“He’s done a great job. He’s kind of a fan favorite right now in the building with his attitude, personality, which we knew when we recruited him. Every day he comes out there, it seems like he does something really good with the ball in his hands. Explosive plays. We talked about him being a guy that was going to have those sexy runs, those long, explosive runs, and he’s held true to form. He’s that guy that every day in practice, he’s been coming out there and he finds a way to get through those small creases.
“You know, he’s a smaller back but he gets to top-end speed really fast. We’ve been really impressed with his natural vision and his natural patience as a runner. Obviously, the thing that he has to continue to grow in more than anything else is that physicality part of it and that’s going to come as he gets into games more, as he gets into practice and those live reps more. I like the way Dylan’s operating in our offense as well. He’s playing with that sense of urgency that we need in our offense because we play so fast.”
On transfer Lyn-J Dixon, who transferred to Tennessee earlier this month
“He tweaked his ankle, but he’s fine. He should probably be back with us tomorrow. Lyn-J, we just kind of keep him in doing some limited work on strength and conditioning, make sure he gets back 100-percent, but Lyn-J’s progressing fine.”
On how much playing time Dixon could get
“You know, it’s really too early to say right now. We’re glad to have him right now. We’re happy that he’s here in the building and learning and progressing each day. The biggest thing, you know he’s 23 years old, he’s played a lot of college football. He’s had success on a high stage and at a high level. So, really just excited about him learning and progressing throughout the weeks. And I think that’s one thing, maybe commitment to making sure that he understands what to do and how to do it.
“We’ll see how he goes and how he learns and progresses throughout the rest of camp.”
