Florida LB Jarrad Davis is not impressed with Tennessee freshman RB Jalen Hurd
Tennessee true freshman running back Jalen Hurd leads the Vols with 328 yards on 72 carries through four games. Despite the solid 4.6 yards per rush average and a career high 119 yards in his SEC debut over the weekend against Georgia, Florida sophomore linebacker Jarrad Davis is not impressed.
"He's physical. He's fast, but he doesn't have top-end speed," Davis said of the 6-foot-3, 221-pound Hurd. "We have to come downhill, we have to hit him early. We have to let him know what it is and we have to welcome him to the SEC."
Heading into Saturday’s matchup between the 2-2 Vols and 2-1 Gators at Neyland Stadium, Davis says Hurd has not seen a defense as good as Florida’s.
“Georgia was a big test for him, that's a physical team,” Davis said. “But I feel like we have more to offer for him. We're going to come down, we're going to talk to him a little bit with the pads. We're not going to talk with our mouth, we're going to hit him and get back and get lined up. I don't think he can hang with us. He's a good athlete, but we've got a whole defense coming for him.”
Florida gave up 672 yards of total offense in its last game against Alabama, so its defense still has a lot to prove in order to back up Davis’ boasts – stopping Hurd will be a big part of that.
In contrast to Davis, Gators defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin offered praise for the freshman.
"I just think he's gaining more and more confidence each game. I think their coaching staff is gaining more confidence in him each game. I think he's getting more carries and playing more as they go,” Durkin said. “I don't think he's a freshman anymore. I think he's a guy that's got good playing experience now. He's playing within their scheme and doing well.”
Hurd was a five-star recruit from Hendersonville, Tennessee, and was a huge in-state pull for Vols head coach Butch Jones. He’s already have a big impact for a rebuilding Tennessee program and Durkin knows containing him will be a challenge.
"He's not a guy you can go hit and butt down. He's not going to go down," Durkin said. "You've got to hit him, wrap him up and tackle and get more guys to the ball.”
For more Florida news, visit InsideTheGators.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
