When Tennessee football was at its best in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Vols always found a way to get the ball to their elite running backs in any way possible. It almost became Running Back U like Wide Receiver U.
At the time, running backs would head to Knoxville knowing they would have to wait their turn to play. But waiting their turn was worth it, even if it wasn’t until they were a senior, because they knew if they were good enough they’d get a lot of carries. Travis Stephens even took a redshirt just so he could be the Vols’ feature back in 2001 rather than transfer.