Kiffin Won't Wait

Until now, I have never seen a UT freshman running back dominate like former Vol Jamal Lewis did in 1997. He wasn't good enough to help the Vols win a national title in Peyton Manning's final year, but that wasn't his fault. The blame is on Tennessee's coaching staff.

Lewis was a hot prospect out of Atlanta. But during the Vols first three games of the 1997 season, he didn't play much. Even against Florida.

The following week, Lewis made his debut as a starting tailback, and rushed for 155 yards against Ole Miss. A week later, he blasted his home-state Georgia Bulldogs with more than 230 yards rushing. He was named a freshman All-America that season. Not bad for a guy who watched most of Tennessee's first three games from the sidelines.

Lewis couldn't help the Vols beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Huskers finished the season with a share of the national title. And in fairness to Fulmer, Florida had the nation's best run defense that season-- so there's no guarantee Lewis would have done anything against the Gators.

But something tells me Lane Kiffin isn't going to wait as long to make his running back decision. It's likely Bryce Brown will see serious action against Western Kentucky, UCLA, and Florida in the opening weeks of the season.

I haven't seen Brown practice yet. Neither has Kiffin. But here's what the Vols head coach said about Brown this week:

I'll tell you this, when you walk by Bryce, in his presence, he looks like the real deal. He's 218 pounds right now and he looks like a guy who's been in the NFL for a few years. He's got that superstar walk and presence.

Sounds like a guy we could be seeing plenty of this season. Right away.