Tennessee Football Spring Game 2017: 5 things to watch for

3. It’s John Kelly’s time to shine

The Vols had some serious depth at running back last year. But while that position was arguably their biggest strength, it was also a reason why they fell apart. Butch Jones sent shock waves last season when he said Jalen Hurd was leaving the program. It was after they had lost their third straight game, to South Carolina, and that announcement just destabilized the locker room even further.

Thanks to Alvin Kamara and John Kelly, they could cope with it, but it’s never easy on a coach to balance three running backs in a season. And now that Kamara’s declared for the draft, Kelly will be tasked with leading the backfield. He’s the only running back with more than 14 career carries, and over the last six games in 2016, he averaged 6.4 yards per carry while finishing with 630 rushing yards. He was only behind Josh Dobbs in the latter category.

Kelly’s an explosive back who can take pressure off of Tennessee’s new quarterback. Even though he split carries down the stretch last season, he thrived when he was given an expanded role. There’s no doubt that he the talent to be a featured player on offense, and once the Spring Game starts, he’ll be eager to prove that.

Just because Dobbs and Hurd are gone, that doesn’t mean the Tennessee offense can’t remain potent heading into this season.