Alvin Kamara enjoyed his time in Knoxville while he was playing for the Vols in college. But he’s made it abundantly clear now that while he liked the town and the relationships he formed, he wasn’t a fan of how he was used on the field.
Kamara, who now plays in the NFL and was recently voted the Pepsi Rookie of the Year by fans, has spoken out before about his lack of usage while in college. He said during an interview with Sports Illustrated that his lack of playing time with the Vols was “F–ed up.”
And Kamara was asked about it again during another interview this week, and his sentiments remain unchanged.
During an interview on the Sims and Lefkoe Podcast this week, Kamara was asked about his journey to the NFL. And the former Vol didn’t hold back about how he felt about his time at Tennessee.
Simms was recalling Kamara’s path to the Saints when the subject got brought up. “This is where I’m fascinated,” Simms began. “Mr. Georgia (in high school), go to Alabama, leave Alabama, go to junior college, then go to Tennessee, I don’t know what they were smoking down there, they don’t give you enough carries…”
At which point Kamara cuts Simms off to say “They were on some other s–,” in reference to Butch Jones and company not giving him enough touches in college.
Kamara was just voted the Pepsi Rookie of the Year by fans and appears to be the favorite to win the official Offensive Rookie of the Year award by the NFL this weekend. But many fans, analysts, and former players themselves have viewed Kamara’s time at Tennessee as a big “what if.”
In his two seasons, Kamara averaged 7.7 yards per touch on offense. Yet he averaged just 11.8 touches a game while fellow running back Jalen Hurd averaged nearly 20 touches a game in that same span. But Hurd averaged over two yards per touch less than Kamara during his time at Tennessee.
As a Vol, Kamara totaled 1,294 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 210 carries. He also added 74 receptions for 683 yards and seven scores. Kamara also returned a punt for a touchdown in 2015.
In his rookie season with the New Orleans Saints, Kamara amassed over 1,500 yards of offense. He totaled 728 rushing yards and eight scores on 120 carries and added 81 catches for 826 yards and five touchdowns. He also averaged 31.6 yards per kickoff return on 11 returns and scored on a 106-yard return. Kamara averaged 7.7 yards per touch on offense for the Saints this season.
He also became only the second rookie in NFL history to total five rushing scores, five receiving scores, and a kick return touchdown in the same season. The only other rookie to do so was Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.
Kamara finished third among all rookies in the NFL in rushing yards and had the most receptions among all rookies regardless of position. He also had the third-most receiving yards among first-year players in the league. His 14 total touchdowns were the most among all NFL rookies this past season as well.
Here is the snippet of the interview with Kamara if you want to listen for yourselves:
Kamara on not getting enough carries at Tennessee:
“They were on some other s**t.” pic.twitter.com/wsz2ldcB4V
— Jordan Dajani™ (@JDnumba3) February 2, 2018
2 Responses
Jones is gone. Enough already!
I think the title would have been better stated that “Kamara wasn’t a fan of Butch Jones”. By his own accounts, he enjoyed the town and the school and the relationships he formed here.