Tennessee Vols will get a look at the future of a key area in the Citrus Bowl
The Tennessee Volunteers are doing what a lot of teams across the country are doing in bowl game prep: trying to figure out who's actually playing and getting their best 11 on the field on each side of the ball. For Josh Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, that task is a little bit clearer […]
The Tennessee Volunteers are doing what a lot of teams across the country are doing in bowl game prep: trying to figure out who's actually playing and getting their best 11 on the field on each side of the ball.
For Josh Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, that task is a little bit clearer at the running back position. Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small have both opted out of the Citrus Bowl as they turn their sights to the 2024 NFL Draft.
What that means in Tennessee's offense is that they're going to have to have two new faces to step up to go with Dylan Sampson. Heupel regularly rotates three running backs for games, and it doesn't seem like that's going to change now.
Those new faces will likely be true freshman running backs Cameron Seldon and Khalifa Keith. Seldon seems to be the more likely of the two to get the first looks after Sampson, and that's something his offensive coordinator thinks he's ready to handle.
"What's been great to see about Cam is that he was at a school where he played everything in high school," Halzle said on Friday. "He was playing quarterback, defensive end, running back. He was returning kicks. Doing all that stuff. So it's been great to see him turn into what I call an actual running back. Meaning his understanding of protection, his understanding of 'I can't just grab the ball and run really fast. I've got to let these guys up front set up blocks first. I've got to pace things. I've got to press holes. I've got to do all that different kind of stuff.'
"It's been awesome to see him not just want to be the big athletic kid that wants to run fast, but embrace 'ok, how do I become a complete and total back?' So we have a ton of confidence going into this ballgame that he'll be able to step in and perform at a high level.
"Now, you lose two guys who have been extremely productive in the SEC for three years. I'm not going to act like that's just a plug and play all the time, but if there's a young kid that can come in and handle it, mentally and physically, it's Cam."
Seldon has a nice combination of size (6'2", 220 pounds) and athleticism. The real test is whether Seldon ready and prepared to pass protect as well as Halzle indicates he is. That's the benchmark for a lot of running backs to get on the field: making sure they can step in and perform without getting their quarterback crushed due to a missed block.
The same goes for Keith, the other freshman running back who will likely see playing time for Tennessee in the running back rotation on Monday afternoon. Khalifa is a big, powerful runner at 6'1", 230 pounds and gives the Vols a bruising option out of the backfield.
The future is now for a number of Volunteers across the roster, and Tennessee fans hope it's a bright one on Monday in Orlando.
Vols predicted to land one of the top players in the transfer portal
Tennessee would be a very logical fit for one of the biggest names in the portal
