Tennessee RB Cam Seldon to miss rest of spring practice with shoulder injury

Volquest’s Austin Price reports Wednesday that Tennessee running back Cam Seldon is expected to miss the remainder of spring practice due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Seldon has already undergone a shoulder procedure and is expected to be back at some point in the fall, with his return timeline dependent on his rehab process. As the Tennessee running back room takes another hit after losing Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small to the NFL and freshman true freshman Peyton Lewis who also needed surgery upon his arrival on campus.

Seldon played in all 12 games for Tennessee last season rushing for 106 yards on 25 touches, averaging 4.2 yards per carry in his true freshman year with the Volunteers. He saw his biggest workload in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Iowa following Wight and Small’s NFL Draft declarations, rushing for a career-high 55 yards on 13 carries.

He also returned three kickoffs for 36 yards and recorded a tackle on special teams last season, expected to have an increased role in the backfield this upcoming season alongside Dylan Sampson.

Seldon played high school football at Northumberland in Heathsville (VA), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 141 overall recruit and the No. 4 overall ATH in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Sampson, Khalifa Keith, and DeSean Bishop now remain in Tennessee’s thin running back room and will be tasked with carrying the load for the remainder of spring practice through the Vols’ spring game on Saturday, April 13.

The importance of Nico Iamaleava in Tennessee’s running game

As Tennessee’s running backs continue to struggle with injuries, the importance of quarterback Nico Iamaleava‘s impact in the running game could continue to rise.

Iamaleava rushed for 27 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start for the Volunteers in their bowl game, and Volquest’s Brent Hubbs spoke with Andy Staples about how he could potentially open up the quarterback run game in a new way this upcoming season.

“Joe [Milton] was a reluctant runner, not a willing runner, and I think Nico will be a more willing runner,” Hubbs told Staples on. “I think the other thing too is the processing of that. You’re seeing more and more of this — it’s not just read it and run, but it’s read it, and then are you running? Are you throwing the RPO out of it? Lots of different things you can do there and I think some of those possibilities are there, with Niko that weren’t there a year ago.”