KNOXVILLE – Jeremy Pruitt liked the way his running backs played in Tennessee’s second scrimmage of the spring last Saturday at Neyland Stadium, but it didn’t change his assessment of the position’s depth.
“We’re looking for able bodies that can play running back,” the Volunteers’ first-year coach said Thursday. “But the guys that have had a chance to compete have done that.”
In the spring game at Neyland Stadium this Saturday at 2 p.m., fans are likely to see just two scholarship running backs on each team.
The name they will recognize is sophomore Ty Chandler, a former prized recruit from Nashville who ran for 305 yards and two touchdowns while backing up the now-departed John Kelly in 2017.
Tennessee running back Ty Chandler (3) carries versus Southern Mississippi during an NCAA football game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn.But with Pruitt preferring bigger running backs and two of them arriving this summer in graduate transfer Madre London and freshman Jeremy Banks, the coach has yet to bite when asked about Chandler. He said last week that it was still too early to single out any players at running back.