‘Travis Henry vibes’ – ESPN analyst wasn’t expecting what he saw from young Tennessee Vols player against Furman
ESPN’s Cole Cubelic wasn’t expecting to get “Travis Henry vibes” from one of Tennessee’s young offensive players in the season opener.
One of the big things we learned in Tennessee’s season-opening win over Furman is that the Vols have more than enough running back depth.
We already knew that Josh Heupel likes his running backs this season — he said in August that it’s “maybe as strong as any running back room” he’s had at Tennessee — but I don’t think anyone was expecting to walk away from the Furman game talking about the Vols’ No. 4 running back.
But that’s exactly the case.
ESPN’s Cole Cubelic got “Travis Henry vibes” from Justin Baker
DeSean Bishop is the unquestioned No. 1 running back for the Vols. Javin Gordon and Daune Morris are the top two backups.
Justin Baker, the No. 4 running back, was mostly an afterthought (for fans and much of the media) going into the season. But he showed up in a big way in the win over Furman, rushing for 89 yards, including an impressive 73-yard touchdown run.
ESPN’s Cole Cubelic said this week that he got “Travis Henry vibes” from Baker while reviewing the film from Tennessee’s win over Furman.
Henry, of course, is the Vols’ all-time leading rusher.
“There’s one thing that I’m not sure that I was ready for going into this game, and that’s Justin Baker,” said Cubelic. “Oh, buddy. DeSean Bishop’s great, and he’s gonna carry the load this year. But Tennessee is not gonna have much of a drop off when they get to their number two running back. Travis Henry vibes with this dude. The shoulders stay square. He glides like he can make you miss side to side, but it’s like he’s always looking for contact. It just looks super smooth from this young man, and I think he’s going to be able to take a little bit off of Bishop as the season goes on.”
Heupel praised Baker earlier this week on The Mike Keith Show, calling him a “consummate pro.”
“He’s the consummate pro,” said Heupel of Baker. “He’s very similar to Bishop in his approach of how he comes into the building every day. The way that he takes care of his body and the nutrition side of it.
“He had a tremendous offseason and played really good football through spring ball and (fall) training camp. And we felt really good about what he had put on tape. On Saturday, he gets an opportunity, and obviously everybody saw the long run. He did a great job on that play. But we love the way that he’s playing right now.”
Baker isn’t going to be the No. 2 running back here at the start of the season, but he could certainly force his way into that role if he continues to play at a high level.
