KNOXVILLE - Early in the second quarter of Tennessee's 30-10 loss to LSU on Saturday night, junior running back John Kelly lined up at quarterback.
As Kelly received the snap, a Volunteers player wearing the number 34 went in motion and caught a pitch pass from Kelly. The player turned upfield and gained 10 yards and a first down.
As the play ended, a chaotic search for the identity of the mysterious runner ensued. Even Neyland Stadium public address announcer Jeff Jarnigan held his tongue and did not announce the outcome of the play. The only Tennessee player listed as number 34 on the official roster for the game was linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., who is out for the season because of a knee injury.
After the chaos calmed down, the player was announced as Malik Elion, a junior walk-on who is also a member of the school's track and field team. Even Elion's teammates weren't sure if he had been with the football Vols the whole season.
"Yeah, I think so," senior tight end Ethan Wolf said after the game, looking over to confirm with defensive lineman Kyle Phillips.
Wolf had at least spotted Elion on the scout team as a kickoff returner, where his speed turned heads.
"He's fast, and, yes, that's pretty much what we got from him there," Wolf said. "He's a track guy. He's just an extremely fast kid, and it's great that he earned that rep 100 percent through practice. He's was our scout kickoff returner, I think. And he was just running through our kickoff team back and forth and back and forth, and the coaches just said, 'We've got to get this kid the ball sometime.'"
Elion, who is from Memphis, helped the Vols' 4x400-meter relay team earn an All-America second-team honor last season.
Keeler's moment
Elion wasn't the only Tennessee walk-on who got a chance to contribute against the Tigers.
Early in the second half, senior offensive lineman Jashon Robertson went down with an injury, leaving the Vols with just four scholarship offensive linemen. They were forced to call on redshirt sophomore Joe Keeler, who had never played in a college game.
But he played the rest of the game - along with four freshmen on the offensive line - and played about as well as anyone expected him to.
"Having that one walk-on come on in Joe Keeler, he obviously has never taken a snap," Wolf said. "Obviously I haven't watched the film yet, but from what I saw I thought he did a decent job I tip my cap to him, that's for sure."
What's next?
The Vols are out of contention for a bowl now with one game left on the schedule, against Vanderbilt this Saturday. A win is required to avoid the program's first eight-loss season.
"We wanted to get to that bowl. We really wanted to finish the season out right, so that hurts," senior linebacker Colton Jumper said. "But you've got to look past it because we're playing Vanderbilt on Saturday. That's the biggest thing we're looking at. That loss last year, that one hurt. We're definitely going to have motivation for them."
The Vols have multiple players from the Nashville area who have added motivation, including Phillips.
"I want bragging rights," he said, "because my mom went to Vandy."
Contact Rob Harvey at sports@timesfreepress.com.