Jabari Small Opting Out Of Bowl Game

Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small will not participate in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

Tennessee has had another player opt out of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl game. This time, it is on the offensive side. Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small will not participate in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and has not practiced with the team during bowl game practice. He will likely not travel with the team to Orlando on Wednesday. No future plans have been announced for the talented back; however, he does hold another year of eligibility.

Tennessee has already had one running back opt-out, which was the talented 1,000-yard running back Jaylen Wright. Small split majority of the snaps with Wright and true sophomore Dylan Sampson. Small finished this season with 95 rushes, which was around 21.8% of all rushes, and totaled 475 yards rushing, which is around 19.5% of the total rushing yards. Small had two touchdowns this season while running the ball as well. Receiving the ball, he had seven catches for 40 yards and no touchdowns as the secondary back for most of the season.

After losing their two returning starters, the Vols will now turn to Sampson and true freshman Cameron Seldon as the backs for the bowl game. Sampson had a season that consisted of 86 rushes, 471 yards, seven touchdowns, and 5.5 yards per carry. He also had 17 carries, 175 yards, and one touchdown. Seldon didn’t get many snaps as a true freshman; however, he was one of the standouts this staff brought in as a dual-threat prospect at the wide receiver and running back positions. Iowa does have a top defense in the nation, so it will be interesting to see what this rushing attack looks like in such a short amount of time.

Tennessee Volunteers RB Jabari Small during the loss to Georgia. (Photo by Randy Sartin of USA Today Sports)

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