KNOXVILLE - Tim Jordan may not be Tennessee's flashiest option at running back, but he has made notable contributions on several occasions during his time with the Volunteers.
Now a 5-foot-11, 203-pound junior, he did not start in the 2018 season opener against West Virginia but took on a heavy workload after an injury to classmate Ty Chandler. Jordan responded with 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
In the second half of last season, he had 49 yards of offense against Auburn in a 30-24 win, 91 yards in a 27-24 loss to South Carolina and 104 yards in a 24-7 win over Kentucky.
This season he has battled an ankle injury - it forced him to miss the second game, against BYU - but he is healthy again and totaled 68 offensive yards and scored the first touchdown in the Vols' 20-10 win over Mississippi State last Saturday. It was his first score of the year and the fourth of his career.
It's an arbitrary number, but when Jordan has rushed for at least 30 yards since Jeremy Pruitt took over as head coach prior to last season, Tennessee is 5-4. When he doesn't, the Vols are 2-6. In addition, they're 3-1 when Jordan scores and 4-10 when he doesn't under Pruitt.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee running back Tim Jordan tries to escape Georgia defensive end David Marshall (51) during their teams' Oct. 5 game at Neyland Stadium.Basically, when Jordan is successful, so are the Vols (2-4, 1-2 Southeastern Conference), who visit top-ranked Alabama (6-0, 3-0) for a 9 p.m. kickoff Saturday. ESPN will televise the game.
"I know Tim was eager to get back in there," Chandler said recently. "He brings physicality, is a downhill runner, (gains) yards after contact. He's a physical guy. I was excited to have him back in the lineup.
"That's my dog."
So even as Chandler has manned the No. 1 spot on the running back depth chart - his 383 rushing yards and two touchdown runs lead the Vols this season - and freshman Eric Gray has shown ability with 177 yards on 45 carries and 60 yards on nine catches, Jordan has remained steady with 171 rushing yards on 43 carries.
It has kept him firmly planted in the rotation.
"One guy that has really stuck out to me in the last week with how he's played and how he's competed - really going all the way back to the Auburn game (in October 2018) - is Tim Jordan," Pruitt said recently. "He's a guy that didn't play much at Florida (on Sept. 21), because he had been banged up a bit, but when he's gotten his opportunities he's continued to work hard, play good on special teams, and it's been good to see him out there getting it going.
"Tim's a guy that really likes ball and has been a really good practice player for us."
The Vols averaged 192.5 rushing yards in their two wins this season. That number shrank to 123.3 in their losses, and that figure is inflated by Tennessee rushing for 242 yards against BYU, a game that took two overtimes to decide.
Take that game out, and the number shrinks to 83.7 in losses to Georgia State, Florida and Georgia.
With a full contingent in the backfield, though, the Vols believe they can be successful on the ground.
"Our running backs, they're great," junior offensive lineman Trey Smith said this week. "From Gray, Jordan to Ty, they're all really good backs.
"Having Tim in the mix, he did a great job on Saturday. He had a lot of violent, physical runs, getting us hype. He did a great job."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.