On a chilly November Saturday night in Columbia, Missouri, Tennessee faced the 14th-ranked rushing defense in the nation. But Tennessee’s offense did what it had done for most of the season: run the football. And Missouri couldn’t stop it.

The man leading Tennessee’s rushing attack in the Vols’ 19-8 win over Missouri was RB Jalen Hurd, a 6-4, 240-pound sophomore. Hurd gained a career-high 151 yards on 34 carries.

It was a statement game for Hurd, who became the first sophomore in Tennessee history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.

Missouri isn’t the kind of team that allows offenses to run all over it. But on a night when Tennessee’s offense needed someone to step up and make plays, Hurd came through, gaining 38 more yards than Missouri’s defense averaged allowing per game.

What’s more impressive was that most of Hurd’s rushing yardage didn’t come from big plays. His tone-setting performance was consistent, carrying the ball for chunks of 4, 5 and 6 yards while slowly moving his offense toward Missouri’s end zone.

There are many reasons to believe that Hurd could be the SEC’s next great running back. For one, the blocking and continuity within Tennessee’s offensive line should significantly improve during the offseason, especially if guard Jashon Robertson can stay healthy.

Splitting carries with speedy Alvin Kamara will allow Hurd to stay fresh throughout course of games during his 2016 season. QB Joshua Dobbs is a threat to run or pass, making it harder for defenses to focus on stopping Hurd.

Hurd has a rare combination of speed and power — an ability to break runs out to the edges of the field while still breaking tackles.

And it almost always takes more than one defender to bring him down. Hurd doesn’t just run into defenders. He punishes them.

Chances are that at the beginning of the 2016 season, Hurd won’t be in the headlines nearly as much as Georgia’s Nick Chubb or LSU’s Leonard Fournette. But by the end of the season, he might be considered the conference’s best running back.

Next season, Hurd will be the centerpiece of Tennessee’s offense — an offense that runs the ball until the opposing defenses stop it.