There was a time in Tennessee’s football history when losing the top rusher wouldn’t ground the entire running game.
In 1993, the Vols could have replaced Charlie Garner with either James Stewart or Aaron Hayden, both future NFL running backs. In 1998, a torn lateral collateral ligament in October sidelined Jamal Lewis for the year, but Travis Henry emerged to help carry the load in Tennessee’s national championship season. In 2004, Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr. both cleared the 1,000-yard mark.
But those days might be over.
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That’s one reason – besides the general tone of gloom surrounding Tennessee right now – that John Kelly’s suspension comes at a particularly inopportune time for the Vols.