KNOXVILLE - When Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt approached assistant David Johnson about moving from working with wide receivers to running backs, the conversation was "short," as Johnson recalls.
"Once he brought it up, I told him, 'Whatever we need to do to win, it doesn't matter," Johnson said recently. "I can coach football; it can be running backs, tight ends or I can be the waterboy. Whatever to win. I have to have that type of attitude.
"I'm just glad to have the opportunity to be on this staff, in a new position. I think it's a great opportunity for myself."
Johnson made the transition this past winter after former Volunteers quarterback Tee Martin returned to Knoxville as an assistant. Johnson and Martin both have experience coaching wide receivers, but Johnson has also coached running backs and tight ends.
A complete overhaul of the offensive staff after Pruitt's first season at Tennessee led to only two assistants - tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer and offensive line coach Will Friend - remaining in their same positions. After spending last season working with the Vols' running backs, Chris Weinke transitioned to coaching quarterbacks. Jim Chaney was hired away from Georgia as offensive coordinator after Tyson Helton became head coach at Western Kentucky.
Johnson's nickname "Coach YAC" goes back to his days as an assistant at Tulane earlier this decade, and in previous seasons it stood for Yards After Catch. The change to running backs only slightly alters the meaning.
"It's now Yards After Contact," he said. "I still have the same email address. At the end of the day, I pride myself in trying to get guys going and trying to get guys playing at a high level."
He has taken on a position group that is full of potential for the Vols but light on productivity at the collegiate level so far.
Ty Chandler led Tennessee in rushing as a sophomore last season, when he had two touchdown runs of 75 or more yards among his team-high seven total scores. Tim Jordan flashed some potential while playing in all 12 games as a sophomore in 2018, and Jeremy Banks had some moments in this past Saturday's spring game heading into his sophomore season.
Eric Gray was a highly regarded recruit from Memphis who backed out of a commitment to Michigan, signed with Tennessee in December and enrolled early. He missed most of Tennessee's spring practices because of injury but is considered versatile, a quality Chaney values for running backs in his system. Johnson called Gray a "true professional," noting that, despite his physical limitations so far, the freshman has understood everything that's been asked of him, from practice to preparation to college life.
Chandler has been impressed, too.
"I feel like everybody has a different style, but he also brings some of the same key aspects that I feel like every running back in the room brings," Chandler said. "I feel like he's a great player. He's very hard-working, so I have no doubt with him. I feel like he's a great kid and he's going to come in and do some good things."
The 2018 Vols averaged only 3.7 yards per carry, a number hurt by the amount of quarterback sacks. There was some ability shown when the backs had holes to run, so it's up to Johnson and the athletes to maximize the potential when those holes are created by the offensive line.
"I think the biggest thing is we want to be smart," Johnson said. "We want to play fast, and we want to be physical. We tell our guys that all the time, and one of the main things when Coach Chaney came in, he wants us to own the ball. He wants to run the ball. That's the only way we're going to be successful in this league. I think the guys are doing a good job."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.