University of Tennessee Athletics
Kamara's Spark On Display, Saturday
April 04, 2015 | Football
By Katie Van Veghel
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
-- Sophomore running back Alvin Kamara has sparked Tennessee's offense since arriving on campus this semester.As Kamara ran the ball on the hallowed ground of Shields-Watkins Field inside Neyland Stadium for the first time, that spark was evident right away.
"He's explosive. Obviously, he does great things on the football field," said quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who has played with and against Kamara since the sixth grade, in their native Georgia. "He's very smart and has been a great addition to our football team."
After spending a year at the University of Alabama, Kamara transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas where he led the Blue Dragons with 1,469 yards of total offense and 21 touchdowns before transferring to Tennessee.
The running back has brought his previous success to Team 119 as he has seen more practice time with the limited playing time of sophomore running back Jalen Hurd due to injury.
Kamara has embraced this opportunity and Head Coach Butch Jones has shown high praise for the redshirt sophomore.
"He's becoming a leader of this football team. He shows up with great consistency and approach every single day," said Jones. "We know what we're getting with him. He's very, very competitive."
After suffering an ankle sprain on Thursday, the coaching staff planned to take it easy with Kamara on Saturday. The running back surprised everyone as he took the field and had his best practice of the spring.
"He's been extremely productive for us," Jones said. "He's been a great spokesperson for the culture here and what we're building here as well."
As Team 119 entered Neyland Stadium on Saturday for the first time this spring, Jones saw Kamara spark the offense from a competitive standpoint.
"Alvin continues to just show up, have a workman-like approach, run with very, very good pad level, he's able to make you miss," said Jones.
Kamara showed incredible speed at the start of practice with a 30-yard burst on Saturday. The running back attributed his ability to break away down the right sideline to the offensive line.
"It was the O-Line. They got some good blocks up front, got a good push. I was able to read it," Kamara said. "Just being able to understand what they were doing up front, able to read it and get that big run and just start off the scrimmage right."
Kamara has built a strong relationship with the offensive line. Without that relationship, Kamara believes he wouldn't be as successful on run plays.
"We're really getting good chemistry and just communicating. Communicating is the biggest thing because we work for each other. It goes hand in hand," Kamara said.
The first time Kamara was able to show off his speed to his teammates came on the first day in pads. Kamara ran an outside zone play and was able to out-run linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who was surprised by Kamara's efforts.
"Everybody already knows I've got speed, but when I put my head down and try to run over somebody they kind of are caught by surprise a little bit," said Kamara.
The running back doesn't just stand out when he has the ball. Coach Jones also noted that Kamara has succeeded in pass-protection.
"He's a very good back without the ball in his hands and a good back with the ball in his hands."
The running back has also significantly improved his strength and power at the running back position, working with Director of Strength and Conditioning Dave Lawson and Wide Receivers Coach and Passing Coordinator Zach Azzanni to ensure he's generating as much power as possible on the field.
"[Coach Lawson] is pushing me and I'm just taking the coaching," Kamara said, "I'm working with Coach Z [Azzanni] on keeping my pad level low, just bending low and generating that power from my lower body."
With his increase in strength and power, Kamara hopes to use these skills in short running plays once the season begins.
"If coach puts me in on the one-yard line and I've got to go and get that hard one yard, I'll go get it," Kamara said. "I'll put my head down and I'll get it."
After transferring to junior college, and now back to SEC play, he noted the toughest adjustment has been re-learning the tempo.
"That's really been the biggest thing, you know, the tempo and then learning a new system," Kamara said. "Now that I'm getting my conditioning right and just getting that tempo I feel pretty comfortable."
Though he is one of the newer members of the team, Kamara plans to utilize his speed, strength, and power in the upcoming football season.
"It's the SEC. If I can use my speed I'm going to use it."
