Tennessee running back Alvin Kamara (6) carries the ball in a game earlier this season. Kamara and Vols' coaches are looking to make the talented back into a bigger part of Tennessee's passing game.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The Tennessee-Kentucky rivalry is one of the Vols' oldest in program history, dating back over a century to the late 1800s.
The rivalry started on Oct. 21, 1893, when UT lost to Kentucky, known then as Kentucky A&M, 56-0 in the season opener in Knoxville. Over the last 30 years, UT has gone 29-1 against the Wildcats.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones, who led the Vols to wins against UK in each of the last two seasons, has maintained the team's focus on this year's Wildcats, who are 4-3 and battled hard in close losses to Florida and Auburn.
"It's all about focusing on the opponent," Jones said. "This is a new year. This is a new football team. They're a new football team. We can't get ourselves focusing on the past and all that. They're a good football team. We've got to focus on the task at hand, and that's the most important."
Tennessee and Kentucky will play for the 111th time on Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on the SEC Network.
Kamara Enjoys His Role In Passing Game
Through the first seven games, Tennessee has utilized Alvin Kamara’s versatility in both the running game and the passing game.
Redshirt sophomore running back has averaged a team-high 5.5 yards per carry with 276 yards and three scores on 50 carries. He is also tied for the team lead with 19 receptions to go with 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Kamara has been a reliable receiver on a variety of passes. In addition to catching the swing passes, short dump-offs and screens running backs typically get, he also enjoys lining up out wide.
"I like it," Kamara said. "It's kind of funny because sometimes the cornerback will look at me thinking, 'What is going on?' Like I have always said, anything I can do to make the team win. Whatever I have to do - split out, in the backfield, whatever - I'll do that."
Kamara joked that he would like to ask offensive coordinator Mike DeBord to let him split out wide against opposing defensive backs for a go route.
"I think it is a mismatch," he said. "They have to be true to what they are doing as far as showing a man or zone coverage."
Hurd Proves Durable
Jalen Hurd is enjoying an increased workload this season and the sophomore tailback an thank his dedicated time in the weight room for an augmented durability through seven games of 2015.
"It's helped tremendously," Hurd said of his offseason weight gain. "I'm still around 240, upper 230s. It's very necessary to have that [weight] just because of the pounding I take."
The pounding comes in facing an SEC gauntlet of big, physical defensive lines week in and week out, but also with the amplified number of carries he has taken as compared to what he received in 2014 as a freshman.
Through his first seven games last season, Hurd recorded 97 carries - an average of 13.9 per game. Compare that to this season where he has notched 144 carries through seven games, bringing his average to 20.6 carries per contest. Those figures place Hurd on pace to vastly exceed his 2014 carries total of 144.
"Size is a key thing in the SEC," said Hurd of his ability to take on such an increase in workload. "Just weighing more and being more durable - that's necessary."
Hurd's durability has also been on display as he has been a full participant in all seven games this season. He was able to appear in all 13 games of his freshman season, but was forced to leave games early due to injury twice last season. Those ailments limited him to only seven combined carries between Chattanooga and Vanderbilt.
With size on his side - not to mention effective running-mates in fellow tailback Alvin Kamara and quarterback Joshua Dobbs – Hurd anticipates being a steady force for the final five games of the season.
Scouting Kentucky's Offense
Kentucky ranks amongst the SEC's best passing offenses this year thanks to the play of quarterback Patrick Towles.
Towles ranks fourth in the conference in passing with 1,730 yards over seven games completing 60.33 percent of his passes.
"He's just an all-around good player," junior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. "He's athletic, he can run, he can throw the ball. He plays with confidence."
"I think the quarterback is putting a lot of confidence in those guys," Reeves-Maybin said. "He's a really good player. He does a lot for the team. I feel like everything runs through the quarterback and those guys kind of feed off of him."
Towles hasn't been the only player to excel for the Wildcats. His partner in the backfield Stanley "Boom" Williams has 551 yards on only 81 carries. He ranks third in the conference with an average of 6.80 yards per rush, behind only LSU's Leonard Fournette and Georgia's Nick Chubb.
"He's had some really long runs this year, he's got good speed," Reeves-Maybin said. "He's a smaller back, but he can break tackles too and he can get loose. He does a good job for them. They give him the ball and get him out on the edge and let him do his thing. We'll have to stop that."
"We all know about their offense and how explosive they are," Jones said. "Obviously Patrick Towles has great skill around him, running backs are playing well, big (offensive) line. It's going to be a challenge for us and being in an SEC environment makes it even that much more. But, I know our players are looking forward to it as well and the opportunity to compete again."
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)