University of Tennessee Athletics
Roles And Confidence Building For Underclassmen
October 27, 2015 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Week by week the Tennessee Volunteers are growing up, with underclassmen making the most of opportunities.
It goes deeper than leading rusher Jalen Hurd, who is well ahead of his rushing pace from a year ago and has already surpassed his touchdown totals from his freshman year. It is more than Todd Kelly Jr. continuing to be a rock in the defensive backfield and Evan Berry returning kicks at a record pace.
"They have displayed great athleticism and great toughness and endurance," Butch Jones said of the younger members of Team 119. "It's exceptionally hard for a young player to come in a football program and play the amount of repetitions that they have played all season long."
Wide receiver Josh Malone had 23 catches for 231 yards and a touchdown last season. Through seven games this year, Malone already has a team-high 19 catches and stands second on the team in receiving yards with 212. He caught the second touchdown of his career against Oklahoma.
"My mindset and how I've handled the season has been totally different than last year," Malone said. "I'm being more patient and taking it one day at a time, not trying to think ahead, just focused on the small things."
He has also had some help along the way. Fellow receiver Jason Croom has been out of the lineup with an injury all season, but he has helped Malone every day, as have others in the receivers' meeting room.
"Even though he's out right now, he has been giving me a lot of advice," Malone said of Croom. "He has been seeing the things that I can't see. Marquez North has helped me a lot as well and Johnathon Johnson was my big brother when I was a freshman, so I always seek him out for advice."
It is a scene that is playing out all over the practice field, older players aiding the development of their younger teammates.
"They're relying on their competitive character, their instincts and the older players around them," Jones said. "The thing that is really gratifying with this football team is that our older players really embracing the younger players and showing them the way of Tennessee football."
It has been evident on the offensive line, where injuries forced early enrollees Chance Hall and Jack Jones into the rotation, then into the starting lineup. Again, the veterans at the position stepped up to show them the way.
"Kyler Kerbyson has done a great job of really mentoring our young offensive linemen," Jones said. "You can hear the conversations in practice and on the sidelines in the course of games. The older players will watch them when they're not in."
Darrin Kirkland Jr. has stepped up to earn the starting nod at middle linebacker. Like Hall and Jones, Kirkland was an early enrollee, but missed the spring with an injury. It was the mental reps gained from the sideline and help from a fellow linebacker that put him in a position to contribute right away.
"Jalen Reeves-Maybin has taken me under his wing and helped me with the mental side of things and never getting too high or too low," Kirkland said. "I'm understanding offenses better and what they're trying to do and what they're trying to do to our defense."
With his time on the field, Kirkland has seen growth in himself as the season has gone on.
"The game has completely slowed down for me," he said. "That has come with more playing time and more experiences. Being on the field has helped me play better. Every game has been a different experience for me and it's definitely going to pay dividends for me."
Those dividends are starting to pay off for all of the underclassmen whose roles have continued to grow. But they see the success they are experiencing now as only the start of something big.
"We always tell each other that the sky is the limit if we stick together," Kirkland said. "We're going to be great in the future. We're looking forward to the process and getting better every day."
