Confident Alvin Kamara eager for Tennessee Vols debut

Tennessee's Alvin Kamara (6) runs the ball during the Orange & White Game in Knoxville in April. The junior college transfer is blending nicely with returning running back Jalen Hurd, from all accounts.
Tennessee's Alvin Kamara (6) runs the ball during the Orange & White Game in Knoxville in April. The junior college transfer is blending nicely with returning running back Jalen Hurd, from all accounts.

KNOXVILLE -- The wait is creeping toward an end for Alvin Kamara.

The Tennessee running back understandably is excited for his Volunteers debut when they open the season against Bowling Green in Nashville.

The junior college transfer and former Alabama freshman may be more excited by the prospect of sharing the field with quarterback Josh Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd in some of Tennessee's offensive sets.

"It's going to be scary," Kamara said as a big grin flashed across his face at the mention of the backfield trio after Tuesday morning's practice.

"Me, Jalen and Dobbs in the backfield together, it's going to be crazy. We've got a lot of things going in. I'm not going to talk about it. We're just going to show it."

photo Alvin Kamara (6) participates in practice Tuesday at Haslam Field in Knoxville.

There's plenty of excitement for what Kamara will show for the Vols this season, and it almost has distracted everyone from the fact that he's never played a snap at the big-time level of college football.

Kamara had a gaudy senior season (2,264 yards and 26 touchdowns with 7.5 yards per carry) at Atlanta-area Norcross High School in 2012, but he redshirted his lone season at Alabama and played in junior college last season.

Of course, his speed and talent, plus the fact he's been in Tennessee's program since January, make that lack of experience easy to forget.

"I've matured a lot," Kamara said. "Coming in as a freshman, you don't always see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just going from Alabama to a junior college, now here at Tennessee in my third year removed from high school there's a lot of things I see now that I didn't see back then. It's really humbling to be in this position right now."

The Vols have toyed with packages that get Hurd and Kamara on the field together with Dobbs, who last year totaled more than half of Hurd's 899 rushing yards in just six games.

Kamara, who's up to 217 pounds, said he and Hurd have a sort of unspoken competition going on in practice that should carry over into the season.

"We don't really talk about, but we know," he said. "We look at each other in practice like, 'All right, we've got to compete.' You break a long run; I've got to break a long run. It's just that (we've) got to always one-up each other. At the end of the day, we shake hands and acknowledge that we've got a good day of work in."

Since spring practice, Kamara said he's improved in pass protection, particularly from a schematic standpoint.

"He's playing with more confidence in terms of scheme," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. "Alvin has always been a confident young man, but he has more confidence in our scheme, and you can see that. He's really picked up our offense, is much, much more vocal.

"He's leading. He's providing even more stability to the running back group. He's a great role model to our young players. He's teaching our younger players. I think it's an illustration of how far he's come with the amount of votes that he received for the player staff."

Tennessee tidbits

Brett Kendrick and Jack Jones were getting some work at center during the quarterback-center exchange portion of Tuesday's practice.

Both players are getting first-team work at guard, too, and Kamara said Jones has stood out this week.

"One that's standing out a lot is Jack Jones, a freshman stepping in and really just having an impact," Kamara said. "He's still learning, but he's getting in there, getting quality reps and doing his job. That's one guy that's really standing out right now."

* With safety Evan Berry, who handled kickoff returns the second half of last season, sidelined this week, cornerback Malik Foreman, running back Ralph David Abernathy IV, cornerback Cam Sutton and quarterback-turned-receiver Jauan Jennings each worked as the kickoff return man Tuesday.

Foreman shared the duties with Berry last season, and Abernathy returned kicks for three-plus years at Cincinnati.

* Sophomore cornerback Emmanuel Moseley said he's up 42 pounds from when he arrived on campus as a super-skinny freshman a year and a half ago.

It's helping Moseley hold down a starting job this month, a year after he lost a first-team spot in training camp in 2014.

"It's a big difference," Moseley said. "It's way easier. Last year it was just a grind, but this year you understand you need the cold tub and to take care of your body."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events