2021 Football Roster
Roster
Small, Jabari

Jersey Number 2
Jabari Small
- Position:
- RB
- Ht./Wt.:
- 5-11 / 206
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Memphis, Tenn.
- High School:
- Briarcrest Christian
Bio

CAREER HONORS
2024 East-West Shrine Game Invitee2024 Hula Bowl Invitee
2021-22 VOLeaders Academy
2021 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
2020-21 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
CAREER
Versatile, shifty running back who made his mark in four seasons with the Vols … Elected to forego his COVID-exempt super senior season in December 2023 … Possesses outstanding vision, work ethic and leadership … Comes from a family pedigree of SEC players, including his father and All-SEC uncles … Was the Vols’ leading rusher in 2021 and ranked second on the team in rushing in 2022 and 2023 … Arrived at Tennessee after a heralded prep career in Memphis and was coached by Memphis native Jerry Mack … An honor student in the classroom who was a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll … Selected to the 2021-22 VOLeaders Academy and traveled to Rwanda in the summer of 2022 … Played in 45 games with 24 starts during his career … Racked up 2,122 career rushing yards on 419 attempts with 24 rushing touchdowns, which ranks 12th all-time in UT annals … Ranks 16th in UT career rushing yardage … Also caught 32 passes for 247 yards and two receiving touchdowns ... Owned 2,369 career all-purpose yards … Produced four career 100-yard rushing contests … Selected to the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl in January 2024.2023 – SENIOR
Formed an outstanding 1-2-3 punch at running back for the Vols, playing in 11 games … Finished the regular season with 95 rushes for 475 yards and two touchdowns ... Averaged 5.0 yards per carry, which ranked 17th in the SEC … Added seven catches for 40 yards … Declared and did not play in the Citrus Bowl (1/1) … Toted four rushing attempts for 30 yards, including a 26-yard run, in the regular season finale vs. Vanderbilt (11/25) ... Ran six times for 25 yards and hauled in a four-yard catch vs. No. 1 Georgia (11/18) ... Handled nine rushing attempts for 32 yards at Kentucky (10/28) and added an eight-yard catch in the road victory ... Logged eight carries for 24 yards at No. 11/8 Alabama (10/21) ... Made his 40th appearance for the Vols and eclipsed 2,000 career rushing yards vs. Texas A&M (10/14), finishing the game with 12 carries for 42 yards ... Logged 11 carries for 59 yards in win over South Carolina (9/30), including a go-ahead two-yard TD late in the first quarter ... Carried the ball nine times for 61 yards in win over UTSA (9/23), including a one-yard touchdown and a season-long 40-yard run ... Toted seven carries for 35 yards at Florida (9/16) ... Rushed for 95 yards on 13 carries (7.3 avg), including a long run of 38 yards in win over Austin Peay (9/9) ... Had 80 all-purpose yards (67 rushing, 13 receiving) in the season-opening win vs. Virginia (9/2).2022 – JUNIOR
The starter at running back who illustrated his toughness all season while playing through injury … Started all 13 games and led the team with 13 rushing touchdowns, which ranked second in the SEC … That figure also tied for 22nd in the FBS … His 13 rushing touchdowns tied for sixth in single-season school history and were the most by a Vol since Montario Hardesty had 13 in 2009 ... Became the first Vol with double-digit rushing scores in a single season since QB Joshua Dobbs had 12 in 2016 ... Found the end zone in 11 of 13 games on the year, including the final four contests of the season … Scored Tennessee’s first touchdown in seven games … Was the Vols’ second-leading rusher overall with 734 yards on 157 carries and added 12 catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns through the air … Rushed for 38 yards on 13 carries with a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter vs. Clemson in the Orange Bowl (12/30) … Toted 11 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns to wrap up the regular season at Vanderbilt (11/26), including a 3-yard TD in the first quarter and 52-yard score in the third to help the Vols establish a new program record for yards per attempt (11.7) ... Led the Vols with 80 rushing yards on 11 carries at South Carolina (11/19), highlighted by a shifty 31-yard dash to the end zone in the first quarter ... Logged nine carries for 54 yards vs. Missouri (11/12), including a 10-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to open the scoring ... Led UT with 78 rushing yards on 21 carries against No. 19 Kentucky (10/29) and pulled in two catches for 17 yards, including a 13-yard TD grab in the fourth quarter ... Provided the opening score in the Vols’ win over UT Martin (10/22) with a 1-yard TD and finished the Homecoming contest with 11 carries for 33 yards ... Handled 12 carries for 53 yards in the win over No. 3 Alabama (10/15), including a 1-yard rushing TD to open the scoring in the first quarter ... Rushed for a season-high 127 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns in win at No. 25 LSU (10/8) ... Broke off a 49-yard run in the fourth quarter in Baton Rouge, the longest rush by a Vol this season ... Scored on Tennessee’s first drive at LSU with a 1-yard plunge and added another on a 5-yard run in the third quarter, logging his fourth career game with multiple rushing TDs ... Posted 122 all-purpose yards vs. No. 20 Florida (9/24), rushing 19 times for 90 yards and hauling in three catches for 32 yards in the SEC opener ... Tallied a 1-yard rushing touchdown and his first career receiving touchdown for 16 yards against the Gators, marking his fourth career game with multiple TD scores ... Punched in a pair of 1-yard rushing touchdowns in road win at No Pitt (9/10), marking his third career multi-TD outing ... Took 13 carries for 63 yards in the season opener vs. Ball State (9/1), including a tough 7-yard TD run in the second quarter.2021 – SOPHOMORE
Played and started 11 games and finished the year as Tennessee’s leading rusher, taking 141 carries for 796 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, which tied for eighth in the SEC ... Owned three 100-yard rushing games on the season, including the final two games of the year (Bowling Green, Vanderbilt, Purdue) ... 374 of his yards came after contact according to PFF … Ranked third on the team in all-purpose yards with 873, including 77 receiving yards on nine catches … Ended his sophomore campaign with a career-high 180 rushing yards vs. Purdue (12/30) in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, including a career-long rush of 60 yards and a 2-yard TD plunge ... His 180-yard performance tied Travis Henry in the 2001 Cotton Bowl for the second-highest rushing output in a bowl game in program history ... Found the end zone twice vs. Vanderbilt (11/27), toting 15 carries for 103 yards in the victory ... Had a career-high two rushing TDs vs. South Alabama (11/20), finishing with 11 carries for 73 yards ... Tallied a team-high 49 rushing yards on 12 carries vs. top-ranked Georgia (11/13) ... Led the Vols with 55 rushing yards on four carries at No. 18 Kentucky (11/6), including a 37-yard run that went for his fourth TD of the 2021 campaign ... Made his sixth start of the season at No. 4 Alabama (10/23) and set career-highs with four receptions and 39 receiving yards ... Rushed 21 times for 92 yards, including a 26-yard run vs. No. 13 Ole Miss (10/16) ... Scored his first TD in SEC play from one yard out on UT’s first drive of the second half against the Rebels ... Had four carries for 42 yards in limited action at Mizzou (10/2) ... Logged 11 carries for a team-high 59 yards and had a career-long 22-yard reception at No. 11 Florida (9/25) ... Plunged into the end zone for a 2-yard score on Tennessee’s first play from scrimmage vs. Pitt (9/11) ... Eclipsed the century mark in his first-career start, carrying the ball 22 times for 117 yards vs. Bowling Green (9/2) while also adding the first touchdown of his collegiate career … Did not play against Tennessee Tech and South Carolina due to injury.2020 – FRESHMAN
Saw action in all 10 games as a reserve and came on strong at the end of the year ... Totaled 26 carries for 117 yards and had four receptions for 24 yards on the year ... Logged season-high 48 rushing yards on six carries (8.0 avg) at Vanderbilt (12/12) … Also had a season-long rush of 17 yards against the Commodores ... Set season highs in rushing attempts (8), receptions (2) and receiving yards (14) at Arkansas (11/7) ... Made his first-career reception vs. No. 2 Alabama (10/24) ... Rushed for 12 yards on two carries vs. Kentucky (10/17) ... Saw his first action at running back in home opener vs. Missouri (10/3), finishing with four carries for 27 yards, including a 15-yard run on his first-career rush ... Made Tennessee debut as a special teams contributor in season-opening win at South Carolina (9/26) … Named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.HIGH SCHOOL
Rated as a three-star prospect and the nation’s No. 12 ranked all-purpose back by 247 composite rankings … Starred at Briarcrest Christian School in Eads, Tennessee … Helped lead the Saints to a 9-2 record and the Division II-AAA state playoff quarterfinals in 2019 … 2019 Division II-AAA Tennessee Mr. Football Finalist … TSWA Division II-AAA All-State selection in 2018 and 2019 … 2019 AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game Participant … Rushed for 1,538 yards and 25 touchdowns on 182 carries (8.5 ypc) and also hauled in 23 receptions for 342 yards and two touchdowns in 2019.PERSONAL
Full name is Jabari Mikal Small … Born on Jan. 31, 2002, in Memphis … Son of Eddie and Trina Small … Father, Eddie, played wide receiver at Ole Miss from 1990-93 … Has two brothers, Keelan and Jalen … Uncle, Tony Small, was an All-SEC wide receiver who played at Georgia from 1996-98 … His other uncle, O.J. Small, was an All-SEC wide receiver who played at Florida from 2000-04 and then played in the NFL … Majoring in sport management … Recipient of the Charlotte Greene Athletic Scholarship … Hobbies include watching movies and going to Jacksonville, Florida, and Oxford, Mississippi to see his extended family … Says he always wanted to play in the SEC because it runs in the family … Lists his dad and his uncles and his biggest influences on his career because they played the sport at the highest level … Close friends with VFL and 2022 NBA draftee Kennedy Chandler … The two grew up together and played on the same youth basketball teams … Favorite movie is “Friday Night Lights” … Favorite musical artists are Future and Young Thug … Favorite food is hot wings … Goal after football is to either become a physical therapist or get into real estate with his uncle … Twitter handle is @JMS4_ and Instagram handle is @jsmall47.FB | Aguilar, Brazzell, Gilbert Postgame vs. ETSU (9.6.25)
Saturday, September 06
FB | Matthews, Robinson, West Postgame vs. ETSU (9.6.25)
Saturday, September 06
FB | Josh Heupel Postgame vs. ETSU (9.6.25)
Saturday, September 06
FB | Cinematic Recap vs. Syracuse (8.30.25)
Tuesday, September 02