Running Backs
Daniel: There was nothing there on the ground. And with Jalen Hurd (shoulder) battling through some pain, the Vols got a taste of how important he is to the team. Marlin Lane took 10 carries, but only averaged 2.2 yards per attempt. He obviously is underwhelming this season. Devrin Young might’ve actually had the most quality reps with a 7-yard run and an 18-yard pass reception. I don’t even know how to grade this group since there was no room, but it clearly wasn’t good. The Vols took a step back here as well. Grade: C-
Houston: Jalen Hurd, despite his shoulder injury and lack of space created by his offensive line, still managed a respectable 3.9 yards per carry on the afternoon. Marlin Lane couldn’t make anything happen during his time on the field, as he could only manage to gain 22 yards on his 10 carries. The coaching staff tried to run the wildcat package on more than one occasion, but false start penalties – possibly a result of Hurd not being loud enough with the cadence – stopped that idea before it ever got started. If Hurd isn’t injured, then Tennessee may have been able to run it a little better in the second half, but there just wasn’t much room for this group to work with yesterday. Grade: C
Reed: It’s really tough to grade this group. Hurd missed some time due to a shoulder injury but actually got going a bit late in the game. He was ineffective in the passing game but averaged nearly 4.0 yards per carry and was dangerous when he got outside. Since he didn’t have any running lanes, those numbers really aren’t bad. Lane had a couple of nice runs in the second half, one for a big first down, but averaged just 2.2 yards per carry. That’s not good enough. Young provided a nice spark when he took a screen pass 18 yards in his limited time at running back. Overall, this group didn’t make many plays but they also didn’t have much room to operate. Grade: C
