Jay Graham Reflects on Tennessee Running Back Situation: “We’re Getting Better”

The Tennessee running backs coach praised his unit's energy and says that they are getting better.

When former Tennessee star Jay Graham decided to leave his comfortable position as the running backs coach at Texas A&M in favor of the same position at his alma mater, fans of the Volunteers were thrilled and expected heavy improvement from the position during his tenure. After an unprecedented off-season which was filled with tough challenges, the new coach of the running backs is feeling optimistic about the future of the position on Rocky Top.

Graham was the first to appear on a new series which is being aired by the University of Tennessee’s Athletic Department called “Vol Access.” The series, which is produced by the same filmmakers who have created famous Tennessee documentaries such as “The Color Orange” and “Johnny Majors: Straight Ahead,” will air weekly, and will be available to watch on utsports.com.

This is #𝙑𝙤𝙡𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 📺

A 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜 look at how the Volunteers give their 𝐀𝐋𝐋 for Tennessee.

Today, we give you a glimpse of what it's like to play running back for @CoachjayhGraham. #PoweredByTheT pic.twitter.com/GlOqEaY31i

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) August 27, 2020

In the first edition of the series, Graham was depicted giving a speech to the running backs, and offering them encouragement and praise for their hard work. “Hey, guys, you know what? I think we got better today, you know,” said Graham after a successful practice on Haslam Field. “The things we did well we got to keep — right — and then get better at everything else. We’re getting better.”

“You see some of the things starting to happen, you’re starting to see some of the things that are going on,” continued Graham in the address to his unit. “Well, you’ve got to take one more step, because what got you to this point ain’t going to get you passed it. You’ve got to do more.”

Later in the short film, Tennessee running back Eric Gray was featured praising his coach after practice. “He knows a lot about the game,” explained the rising sophomore outside of Neyland Stadium. “He played the game — he played it here.”

Graham played at the University of Tennessee from 1993-1996, and was able to have major success, becoming a fan favorite during his time in Knoxville under Phillip Fulmer. After finishing up a historic career at Tennessee, Graham was able to jump into the NFL waters, playing with the Baltimore Ravens from 1997-1999, and would later have short stints with the Seattle Seahawks (2001) and Green Bay Packers (2002).

After deciding to hang up the cleats after another short career in Canada, Graham decided that it was time to jump into the coaching waters. Graham would return to Knoxville as a graduate assistant for his former coach Phillip Fulmer, and continued to build up his profile before landing his first major job at South Carolina. Graham would coach for one season under head coach Derek Dooley before leaving for Florida State. He would then follow head coach Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M before deciding it was the right time to return to Knoxville and coach his alma mater this off-season.

His long and successful career will begin its next chapter on September 26th in William-Brice Stadium, as he will be taking on his former team, the South Carolina Gamecocks, in his first game back in orange and white since 2012.