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Jalen Hurd will remain featured back in Tennessee’s offense
By Jason Hall
Published:
Many speculated, but Saturday’s game was proof.
Butch Jones is not only grooming Jalen Hurd to be the running back of the future, but also the present day.
In Week 1, Hurd split carries evenly with senior Marlin Lane at 11 a piece. Hurd saw the short end in yards during his college debut, but found the end zone for the first time on a 15-yard reception.
Week 2 was a different story. Hurd rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, receiving ten more attempts than the veteran Lane. The Hendersonville, Tenn., native galloped his way to SEC Freshman of the Week honors, becoming the first Tennessee back to do so since Arian Foster in 2005.
The hype surrounding Hurd is large. He was the No. 1 prospect in the state of Tennessee and considered by some as the crown jewel of the Vols’ 2014 recruiting class. The expectations for the teenager to rebuild a once proud tradition of excellence are as high as they can be, but Hurd has done well through his first two games.
“I think Jalen Hurd continues to progress and get better and better against tough yards,” head coach Butch Jones said. “There was one run where we got him to the perimeter of the defense. Now you have to earn your scholarship and make an individual miss in space. Those are all teaching opportunities.”
Hurd was fortunate to enroll early this past January. The former Tennessee Mr. Football Award winner got an early jump on Tennessee’s playbook and the speed of the college game.
It will interesting to see how the young running back fares against a tough road matchup with Oklahoma on Saturday. Hurd has yet to play a college game outside of Neyland Stadium and the level of competition has been inferior to the Vols’ upcoming schedule.
Should Hurd continue to see an increased role in Tennessee offense in Week 3, he will face a tough defense in Oklahoma. Moving forward, its safe to assume that Hurd will be the featured back in Tennessee’s offense in 2014.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
