University of Tennessee Athletics
Growing Into A Volunteer
January 13, 2015 | Football
By Brian Rice KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
Coming in to a new situation, bonding with new teammates, having to grow up for yourself, Kamara has been through all of this before. And the redshirt sophomore wants to use the lessons he has learned to make an impact on his new teammates before he ever steps on the football field.
Kamara signed with the University of Alabama out of Norcross, Georgia, a four-star recruit and one of the crown jewels of the Crimson Tide's 2013 running back class. But injuries limited his ability to compete in practice and he never saw game action in his freshman season. At the end of the year, he transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas to push the reset button on his football career.
Kamara ran for 1,211 yards and 18 touchdowns in nine games in his only season with the Blue Dragons. But his year in junior college was about more than putting up big numbers and finding his next football destination.
"It is kind of a weird transition from coming from the best facilities, nutrition and all that to JuCo," Kamara said. "You've got to be really just grounded with what you want to do or it's easy to get lost. Being here is just a breath of fresh air and I'm happy I got through what I got through."
Going from the Southeastern Conference to junior college is a shock to the system, but it was a shock that forced Kamara to grow as a person and find out exactly where his priorities were. The most important thing he learned came away from the field. If he was to succeed in returning to a Division I school, it would be all on him to get there.
"I'm actually smarter than I thought I was," Kamara said with a laugh before turning completely serious. "You've got to really stay on top of everything, whether it's just sports-wise or academic-wise you've just got to stay on top of everything because it's not the type of support like a D1 school has."
The message he has already shared with his teammates is very simple. The opportunity they have at Tennessee is something that they should embrace every day.
"Definitely don't take this for granted because it can be gone in a second," he said. "That's what I really realized just being at Alabama one second and the next second being at Hutchinson. So definitely take everything, take all your opportunities and run with them and just keep working to do what you want to do."
He saw his future teammates doing just that in the TaxSlayer Bowl victory over Iowa, a game that Kamara watched closely, eager to be a part of Tennessee's future.
"I wish I was playing in that game actually," Kamara said. "It's exciting just to see what it's going to turn into. It's really shaping up to be something great. So once we get spring going and everything else rolling it'll be exciting to see what's to come of it."
The journey to become a Volunteer was long and winding, but Kamara knows that it has changed him and shaped him into a better player and person. One that is ready to go as soon as the first whistle blows.
"I definitely feel like I'm ready to contribute right now," he said. "I'm just hungry and ready to compete and get on the field."
