Surprise package: Breakthroughs by Hardesty, Walker, Jackson : govolsxtra.com

There may not be any surprises inside the Tennessee locker room.

The outside perception is a whole other matter.

A running back with a history of injuries was expected to be pushed by a true freshman for carries. Instead Montario Hardesty has become perhaps the most productive rusher in the SEC.

In terms of big-play ability, the UT line was understandably an afterthought considering the personnel in the secondary. Defensive end Chris Walker has turned into a player the Vols can't do without.

The headlines for true freshmen were largely reserved for newcomers on the offensive side of the ball. Through six games, none of them have come close to the impact of safety Janzen Jackson.

Collectively the Vols (3-3, 1-2 SEC) haven't done enough at the midway point of the season to really open many eyes, but individually they've already enjoyed some major breakthroughs and found at least three irreplaceable guys for the stretch run. Hardesty has carried the offense on his back, Walker has developed into a defensive terror and Jackson has waved the flag for a well-publicized recruiting class, which makes them the News Sentinel's respective MVPs for the first half.

And though first-year coach Lane Kiffin might not call them one, all three qualify as a surprise in some way.

Hardesty has proved it

Bryce Brown came in with more fanfare and greater expectations.

David Oku brought in a little extra hype and perhaps greater speed in the backfield.

But both of the freshmen will have to wait. It's finally Hardesty's turn, and each of the senior's violent, grinding runs seems to be fueled by doubts he could handle the workload as UT's feature back.

"I don't think about it too much, man," Hardesty said. "I feel like every time, every game I play I feel like I have something to prove. That's just every game, so I don't really look at it like trying to get back at people.

"I just have something to prove, and I want to go out there and prove it."

Hardesty has made his point emphatically, and he's had far more chances to do it.

There's hardly ever been a question about his ability with the football, but durability was a valid concern for a tailback who has only rushed more than 100 times in a season once in his UT career. Hardesty still isn't exactly healthy, but with 125 attempts on the ground already, that issue doesn't appear to be so pressing now.

And with 672 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, the Vols aren't likely to stop riding Hardesty any time soon.

"For me personally, when the play is there I want to make it, and I feel like I've been capitalizing on a lot of my runs," Hardesty said. "I'd much rather be 6-0 or 5-1 right now, but beyond that, my (offensive) line has been blocking for me great up front and I've been able to have some big games.

"If we can just continue that and just get on an SEC run here, that'd be good."

It obviously won't be a shock if Hardesty does most of that running himself.

Walker doing plenty

Defensively, Walker has done a bit of everything.

He's been a handful off the edge and leads the team with four sacks. He's forced a fumble, batted down a pass and added a couple other tackles in the backfield.

But it's his two interceptions and a return for a touchdown that give him a slight edge over superstar safety Eric Berry at the moment, and also the reason Walker is the guy clamoring for a chance on the other side of the ball.

"Man, I've been begging them to put me on some goal-line stuff," Walker said. "I miss the ball in my hands. High-school days were fun for me - but I'm just messing around with them."

Walker has been toying with offensive linemen this season as well, and the junior has established career-highs in virtually every category as an anchor up front.

Like Hardesty, he wasn't totally healthy heading into the bye week, but so far a sore back hasn't done much to slow a torrid pace that would have been tough to project for Walker.

"I wouldn't say better than I thought," Walker said. "By the way we were practicing, by the way I was practicing, I felt like I came out and it translated over from the spring into fall camp and it would be a pretty good start for me.

"As a team, it finally felt good to put everything together (against Georgia). You saw, with the exception of special teams, offense and defense played really well, so it was a good thing for the offense to play so well and for us to feel as good as we do."

The defense certainly has provided more than its share of those good vibes early.

Maybe that's part of the reason Walker has been willing to lend his surprisingly soft hands on the other side of the ball.

"These hands are God-given," he said. "I don't need any (extra practice)."

He would like a few more chances to show them off though - on either unit.

Jackson embraces role

At first the Vols just wanted to get Jackson on the field.

Now they occasionally have to find a way to get him off.

UT expected instant contributions from a pair of freshmen at both running back and wide receiver, and it hasn't had any reason to really complain about their output. But it's tough for any of them to keep up with Jackson when he's rarely allowed a play off.

"I'm just trying to do whatever I can," Jackson said earlier in the season. "I don't have time to think about me starting and stuff. I've just got to go out there and play and help the team anyway I can.

"Sometimes I have to get a replacement on kickoff (coverage). It takes so much out of you, you know, to have to run down there, but that's another (important) aspect of the game."

It also has been the worst aspect during the first half for UT, though Jackson has drawn praise for embracing a role as a the first tackler down field in coverage.

But if it starts to take a significant toll on his duties as a hard-hitting safety, the Vols will surely scale him back a bit on special teams.

Recruited at cornerback, Jackson has instead emerged elsewhere, starting each of the past five games and looking like the second coming of Berry on the back line - but maybe with an even higher ceiling.

"It's going to sound crazy but there are some things he actually does better than Eric sometimes," Kiffin said last month. "He's not the player Eric is yet. We all know that. But he has potential to be a great player.

"I think he's going to be an All-American player as long as he stays healthy and keeps practicing hard and preparing hard."

And if Jackson eventually lives up to the reputation, that clearly won't be a surprise to Kiffin.

No matter how the case is presented on the outside, the Vols don't believe in such things.