5 reasons Jalen Hurd can win the 2016 Heisman

The Tennessee Volunteers have become the ‘it’ team in college football’s preseason. With a strong back in Jalen Hurd, he can deliver more than one trophy.

Tennessee was in control in the Outback Bowl, chipping away at Northwestern’s stellar defense. The Volunteers led 24-6 against a team that was notoriously stingy but susceptible to getting blown out when the offense cannot deliver. Tennessee was a team that struggled to deliver exclamation points.

On this final sentence of the season, the Volunteers delivered that exclamation point. They kept going to the well and pounding Northwestern away. The game quickly became an embarrassment for the Wildcats and a celebration for the Volunteers.

Jalen Hurd did not score any of the three touchdowns for Tennessee that game. He only had one on a three-yard run. But his work chipping away that defensive line is the reason the Volunteers dominated so much, opening up the floodgates and burying a Wildcats team with very little offense to speak of.

Hurd rushed for 130 yards on 24 carries. His bruising physical style made a very good, sure-tackling defense look silly. The Volunteers’ wore them down.

There was no chance for a blown lead or any of the fourth-quarter problems that kept Tennessee from realizing its potential in 2015. Hurd was a workhorse, constantly falling forward and breaking through the line.

If there was a formula for the way Tennessee needs to win, it was this way. A healthy dose of Jalen Hurd, wearing down and pounding away at defenses.

The Volunteers are the betting favorites to win the SEC East now. For them to win, they will need Hurd.

For them to become SEC Champions and compete for the national championships, as some believe, it will take Hurd playing at a Heisman level. Something he is very capable of doing.

Next: Consistent improvement