Watch: Jerry Mack talks Tennessee running backs after Friday's practice

Everything Tennessee football running backs coach Jerry Mack said after Friday’s practice, as the Vols continue to prepare for the September 2 season-opener against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville:

Tennessee junior running back Jaylen Wright’s development entering the season

“Well, a lot of good things. First of all Jaylen Wright has grown tremendously as an inside the tackle. When he first got here, he was a guy who really wanted to bounce (outside). A lot of that is probably what they asked him to do in high school. So what you see now is a guy that’s a lot more intent about going through the whole, pressing double teams, things like that. Just like all those different things running through smoke. That’s what we talked to a lot of Jaylen Wright the last couple years. And like you have just seen the growth in his game.”

Tennessee freshman Cam Seldon’s growth over the offseason and fall camp

“Of course, every practice he gets a little bit better. Not having the baseline I talked about in the spring, working with them over the summertime, working with them off of camp, being able to get quality reps. I talk about establishment, a lot of times Cam’s a guy that needs to play in front of a big five lineman as much as possible. That means every opportunity he gets to have those guys out in front of him and understanding leverage and understand the level. Like that’s gonna be huge for him. And the only way he’s gonna continue to grow is really just continue to play football. He’s really good out of space on the perimeter. I think he’s got some comfort zone there, but at the end of the day, (he’s a) big strong physical guy. He keeps developing, he’s got a chance to get really good.”

Jabari Small’s improvement during Tennessee’s offseason and what he had to work on

“I think the first thing was Jabari understanding some of his deficiencies, and that’s helped. He got that addressed in the offseason. The next part is all these guys have aspirations to go on to the National Football League and he’s approached on the field and off the field, he’s really approached everything like a pro. I’ve seen a tremendous growth in the meeting rooms. Not only just what his assignment is and what he wants to do, but Jabari’s also very good at understanding the blocking schemes, understanding what the offensive lineman jobs, the receiver’s job is like, all those different things. He’s really grown in the offense going into year three. Understanding his job, his responsibility is pretty easy now. He’s trying to be a pro and an expert and understanding how everything fits together.”

Tennessee freshman DeSean Bishop’s injury and how it can alter his development 

“Obviously you use reps to actually get better and we’re heartbroken about that (the injury) because man, that guy was really doing a good job. He was coming. We had really high (hopes) the first part of the season. Hopefully he may get an opportunity to come in the season at some point in time, but I do think, like a red shirt, it’s a chance for him to get in the weight room. It’s a chance for him to continue to grow just his baseline, as far as in our system and what we want. And I have no reservation about saying he’s gonna come back in the spring and be a part of a different player. Just simple fact he’s gonna understand all the ins and outs, things that he did not understand quite as well.”

The running back rotation numbers this season 

“Running back, that position, through attrition, sometimes guys get bumps and bruises. Obviously we all feel like those guys are three-down backs, so we feel like they can play every down. We don’t have to rotate guys in for short yardage and pass pro things like that. Right now it’s really tough to say. We have played (multiple backs) here in the past, we rotated (a) two-headed monster and you were able to get in rotation last year and really have some great success. So it really just depends on the flow of the game. One thing about running backs, if the guy has a hot hand, you want keep him in. So that’s no different than what we’re trying to do. The guy that is really in the rhythm, I would be crazy to take him out while he’s on. But I do foresee that we’re gonna need all those guys as the season progresses.”

If it was his intention to make Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small interchangeable backs last season

“They definitely are (interchangeable). First of all, they’re definitely more interchangeable than a year ago. Jaylen has really grown as a pass protector. He’s grown in his hands. Jabari has grown as a pass protector, so I don’t feel like he has a lot of deficiencies from that aspect. The goal is always to recruit, not to always have three-down backs in your room, guys you feel like are athletic enough to catch the ball off the backfield. But at the same time, they’ll short guard a situation in those pass-pro situations where you know you’re gonna get some of those exotic (blitzes) and things like that. And those guys are still stout enough, big enough, strong enough to really hold up and get blown back to the quarterback. And I think over the years that’s what you’ve seen. Like both of those guys games, both of them playing are really high level right  now.”

Jaylen Wright’s growth at Tennessee over the last three years

“First of all, Jaylen, just his growth, like I said before, in high school he just wasn’t an all-around back. He wasn’t in every-down back. And that’s what you’ve seen him really be intentional about trying to work those things that he, those decencies that he needed to work on. He’s gonna be one of the poster boys in our program, I think, for a guy that came in extremely raw, on and off the field. And now what you’ve seen him do is grow into a complete player on and off the field.”

Protecting Jabari Small’s health during camp

“As far as Jabari goes, Jabari is the guy that had no reps really in the spring at all. He hadn’t played football, before this camp, since probably December, the bowl game. So a little bit different than Jacob Warren’s situation. Jabari needs to get hit. We saw last year what happened, Jaylen Wright, didn’t practice all camp, and he had those fumble issues earlier in the season. So we learn from our mistakes as coaches, so make sure of that now. Jabari’s gonna get in there. He’s taking some inside drill, which normally he doesn’t take. He needs to get that feel of that pad, feel those pads-on-pads, be able to finish plays. So he has wanted that. He saw what happened to Jaylen last year and he didn’t want that to happen to him this year. So he has embraced the contact more than anything else.”

The impression Khalifa Keith has made early on

“Big, strong, powerful guy. He’s everything that, you know, he came in about 225, 230. He’s continued to keep maintaining that body weight. And he can move, he plays with it. One thing about him, he does have really good hands. He’s a former basketball player in high school, too, really athletic. He’s really just learning our system and how we go about doing things here at Tennessee. I think as a player you’re gonna see that guy involved in a lot of special teams up here this year. Coach Ek (Mike Ekeler) is extremely excited about his role on what it can be as a runner. He’s a lot further along than I really even anticipated as a runner right now. Running between the tackles, that guy right there, people don’t want come up to tackle (him) too much. He’s just gotta continues to learn to get his self into shape, play his way into shape more than anything else. And he’s gonna contribute, I feel like, this year for us in some kind of capacity.”

Jaylen Wright adjusting from ball-security issues in the past

“He really locked in probably about mid-season last year. And I think after he probably locked in there after the LSU game, I don’t think he had any more issues from a ball security (standpoint) as far as the ball coming out. I do think a lot of that was not being able to get hit at all during August, not understanding that impact of where those bodies were gonna come from all the time, taking from those things ground a little bit, squeezing the ball, make sure you’re secure. So I do think a lot of that was those issues. I have not seen, honestly, I haven’t seen a fumble, not even practice, to be honest, with you at all since mid-season probably last year.”

Dylan Sampson’s versatility, improving in pass protection and getting in the rotation more

“What’s gonna get him into (the rotation) is Dylan can do everything for us. Dylan can go out and flex out in the slot, he can play in the backfield, obviously. From a pass protection (standpoint), that’s probably one of the things that just gotta make sure that Dylan is spot on, with what he’s supposed to do. And those smaller guys, Samp has increased his weight. He is about 195 pounds now. Still probably a little bit lighter than we would like, but it is increasing, it’s going up. But the biggest thing for him is gonna be in pass pro. He’s gotta be able to get able to cushion. Don’t let those 230, 240 pound backs get started. You know, stop those guys quick, before their feet moving and drive close cushion and then go ahead and strike. Because he’s not afraid of contact. Sampson could play defensively, corner, if he really wanted to, I mean, he’ll stick his face in there and he’s not afraid of them.”

Jabari Small growing as a leader during his career at Tennessee

“Well, he  is a quiet leader. He’s not a rah rah guy. Jabari’s not gonna be the loudest all the time. He’s just kind of leading by example. He’s the first one in the meetings. He brings a (note) pad, he’s taking notes like. And guys respect those guys that are pros. They look at those guys, they see those guys, everybody thinks you gotta be the guy that’s always loud and always rallying troops. And that’s just not Jabari’s demeanor, that’s not his personality. But I have seen him continue to come out his comfort zone and continue to grow as a leader here since we’ve been at Tennessee. And I think that’s a compliment to him. He’s that great parents got great stock. So he knows what he has to do to take that next step. And the teammates see it, his teammates understand that. Like this guy right here, that’s who I would like to be like from the standpoint of just the way he goes about carrying his business.”