Tennessee running back John Kelly has speed and power that could make him a featured element in the Vols’ backfield in the future.KNOXVILLE – John Kelly has been the busiest running back for the Tennessee Volunteers throughout spring practice, and that has been a good thing for the sophomore.
With the Vols limiting the workload and contact for top backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, there have been plenty of first-team carries and snaps for the 5-foot-9, 212-pounder from Michigan.
And Kelly appears to be making the most of his opportunity.
“He’s gotten a lot better with his assignments,” running backs coach Robert Gillespie said earlier this spring. “He’s a very smart kid. I said last year I was confident I could put John Kelly in at any moment of the game and not just in cleanup roles. I think this offseason he’s done a really good job in the weight room and a really good job from the X-and-O standpoint.
“I still want to see him take that next step going into year two.”
The reality for Kelly is his chance to become one of Tennessee’s featured backs may not arrive until 2017. He’s the third guy in a backfield with stars Hurd and Kamara, but after totaling 165 yards on 40 carries in mostly mop-up duty as a freshman, Kelly has shown this spring he’s ready to be a reliable Southeastern Conference running back.
Kelly, used on kickoff coverage last season, has been effective in short-yardage situations with his ability to pick up tough yards, and he has shown the ability to lower his shoulder and power through tacklers when needed.
He also owns the team’s top speed. Tennessee puts GPS trackers in the shoulder pads of its players, and in one spring practice Kelly topped out at nearly 22 mph.
“That was something that kind of opened our eyes and opened his teammates’ eyes, also,” Gillespie said. “He’s taken a lot of big strides. John Kelly becoming a valuable back in this system and in the SEC is going to be huge for us as an offense.”
The Vols have created a “21 Club” for those who crack the 21 mph mark in practice, and it also includes Kamara, quarterback Josh Dobbs and a few defensive backs. There’s also a “20 Club” for the Vols who top that speed.
There’s a sense of competitiveness and pride involved for the players.
“John Kelly can be as good as he wants to be,” Dobbs said. “He’s really dynamic. Some people call him a mini-Alvin. He clocked the fastest speed on our GPS (systems) the other day.
“He’s elusive in space, but he also has a little power in him. He can be as good as he wants to be, and I’ve really liked his approach this spring. He’s gotten a lot of reps, and he’s really been making the most of them.”
The payoff for Kelly might not come in 2016, but with this season likely to be the last for Hurd and Kamara, there’s a void in the backfield for next year, so adding a dynamic back is vital to Tennessee’s 2017 recruiting efforts.
Two of the Vols’ top targets are Cam Akers, a four-star prospect from Mississippi and a former Alabama commitment who visited last month, and Ty Chandler of Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy.
Kelly was a three-star prospect the Vols edged out Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and others to sign in 2015.
The Detroit-area native spent part of his spring break delivering bottled water to residents of nearby Flint, where water contamination created a crisis over the past year. In Knoxville, he has helped himself by performing well this spring.
“His hands have been the thing that he’s showcased so far this spring,” Gillespie said. “He can catch the ball out of the backfield. We’ve done some things with lining him up in the slot, and you kind of think one guy is going to be the guy that you can only do that with, but John’s making a fight to say, ‘Hey, you can put me out here,’ from a route-running ability and also from catching the ball.
“My plan for him was that he was going to be a guy that can do it all. He’s still working to show that he can, but (this spring) has been really good for him.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.