Vols 'vibing' off John Kelly's infectious energy and 'different swag'

Tennessee's John Kelly runs for a touchdown against Tennessee Tech. His teammates say his energy charges them up.
Tennessee's John Kelly runs for a touchdown against Tennessee Tech. His teammates say his energy charges them up.

KNOXVILLE - John Kelly's increased presence in Tennessee's backfield has provided a breath of fresh air and added a different flavor to an offense needing it.

His determined running style and infectious energy aren't all that's prompting the Volunteers to rally around the sophomore running back.

The October dismissal of fifth-year senior defensive tackle Danny O'Brien left Kelly as the lone Michigan native on a Tennessee roster full of players from Southern states, and his teammates have noticed.

"He's just an energetic guy on and off the field," said quarterback Josh Dobbs, who's from the Atlanta area. "Guys enjoy being around him, vibing off of his energy. He's a little different. He's a Northerner, so he brings a little different swag to a team in the South than the kids from Atlanta, Florida, Alabama. He sticks out on his own way, and it's a good thing.

"We really like how he plays on the field and also how he carries himself off the field."

Kelly's increased role this season has become one of Tennessee's primary storylines, and he's delivered in his opportunity with Jalen Hurd's injury and subsequent exit from the program and Alvin Kamara's knee injury.

As the featured or complementary back in three of the past four games, Kelly has totaled 287 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding 40 yards on three receptions, and the Vols hope to reprise their best offensive performance of the season with Kamara expected to return and rejoin Kelly against Kentucky on Saturday.

With the Kamara-Kelly tandem, Tennessee rolled up nearly 700 yards at Texas A&M, when the 5-foot-9, 212-pound Kelly showed everyone what he was capable of doing.

"It goes back to the A&M game," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said, "when he went in and proved what he could do in that game against that defense, then I think we've all had confidence in him. I don't know that you'd say him averaging 8 yards - that one run obviously helped that stat - but I just think he played physical, he played hard, he played tough.

"His style of play was really good, getting down the field when he didn't have the ball and trying to get blocks. What was interesting, if you go back and look at that touchdown run he had (against Tennessee Tech), look at the other 10 guys on the field. Just take a look at the excitement they had for him. I think everybody was excited to watch him play."

Multiple coaches and players pointed to how the offense celebrated Kelly's 73-yard touchdown against the Golden Eagles as evidence of the intangible impact he's had.

"He plays the game with a lot of passion," tackle Brett Kendrick said. "He likes to have a lot of fun. I guess we're just kind of feeding off his energy, because when he gets in the end zone, he was jumping around over there. People were chest-bumping him, and he ran up to (guard) Jashon (Robertson) and tried to pick Jashon up.

"That was fun. We just had a lot of fun last week playing together. J.K.'s been huge for us."

After the game Kelly said he wanted to lift Robertson because the right guard made the key block to spring him on the long run, and Kendrick said last week the offensive line wanted to get Kelly in the end zone as often as possible.

There just seems to be an infectious aura around Kelly.

"He's just an exciting runner," Kendrick said. "He's fun to watch. He runs so hard, and as an offensive lineman that's all you can ask for out of a back, is to run as hard as he does. He gives us a lot of praise and thanks us. I think it's kind of locker-room stuff. We're good friends off the field, and we have a lot of fun together."

Dobbs indicated the Vols get a kick out of how Kelly's Northern background comes out off the field.

"He has different lingo," he explained. "He's a big skater, as we all know. He's just different. He's just J.K."

His energy and production may be just what Tennessee needed for the season's stretch run.

"Players kind of earn that," DeBord said. "John Kelly has earned that with the players just because of his work ethic every day and what he brings to the team every day. He's an upbeat guy. He's fired up all the time, and I think the players have respected all that about him. So now he gets his opportunity to play, hey, they're excited for him.

"When you play with emotion, that excites guys."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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