Upon his arrival at Tennessee Alvin Kamara’s fresh start began.
Coming out of Norcross, Georgia, Kamara, a then four star recruit, committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide only to have injuries and a pair of suspensions — one for behavioral reasons and the other for undisclosed reasons — limit his playing time.
At season’s end, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back decided to transfer to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he rushed for 1,211 yards and 18 touchdowns last season en route to being named a NJCAA All-American.
But now, Kamara gets another opportunity at playing on a Division-1 level, and he’s ready to prove that he’s learned from his past mistakes.
“I’ve matured a lot as far as the game goes and being wiser,” Kamara said. “I know how to deal with people, how to get things done, school-wise, on the field and off the field.”
With Jalen Hurd, who rushed for 899 yards as a freshman, being the lone returning scholarship running back, Kamara is expected to play a big role in Tennessee’s offense, where he thinks he can excel as a complement to Hurd.
“Jalen is a bigger back,” Kamara said. “He’s powerful, has good feet for a bigger guy and has good speed. And me, I can run in between the tackles, but my outside speed and my catching ability will make us a good 1-2 punch.”
Not taking no for an answer: Joshua Dobbs and Nathan Peterman remain on the roster.
The Volunteers added another two quarterbacks — Quinten Dormady and Sheriron Jones — to join Jauan Jennings in the Class of 2015
But even with the newfound logjam at the quarterback position, the former Blackmon standout remained adamant on Tuesday that he would be playing under center for UT.
“I expect to play only quarterback, but all of that is up to me, it’s not up to anyone else,” Jennings said. “It’s about how bad I want it and bad I’m willing to work for it.”
The accepted belief is that if Jennings were to move away from the signal caller spot, he would move to safety, a position he also played at in his tenure at Blackmon.
Jennings, though, believes that his experience on the defensive end benefits him as a quarterback.
“If you understand the mindset of a defense you can kind of calm yourself down as a quarterback,” Jennings said. “You can see both views and it makes it easier to be more decisive with the ball when you are going through your progressions and reads.”
Offensive line optimism: Despite allowing 3.31 sacks per game — a number that ranked 117th in the nation — newcomer Jack Jones saw a lot of positives from the Vols offensive line, especially as the season progresses.
That improvement is also something that Jones, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound Mufreesboro, Tennessee native, hopes that he can help build on in first year at UT.
“Tennessee’s offensive line is really young,” Jones said. “I really want to come up here and help in any way I can. I just want to be out there and do anything for Coach Mahoney, Coach Jones, any way they need me.
“I think this offensive line made a lot of strides this year and they did a great job as the year developed. They just got better and better. And I hope to continue that into next year – we’re just going to keep getting better and better. If it means me getting to play a little bit, that’s awesome. But I’m here to work and I’m here to get this offensive line better.”
Jones, however, won’t be alone as his fellow offensive lineman and early enrollee, Chance Hall, is also excited to help bolster the Vols’ front line.
Hall, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound Roanoke, Virginia native, is coming off a torn Achilles tendon that forced him to miss the entirety of his senior year at Northside High School, but he is optimistic that the injury won’t force him to miss any time this spring.
“They’re saying that spring time I should be back,” Hall said. “That’s what I’m pushing for and I’m working really hard to get back as fast as I can.”
