Adams: Hardesty new face of UT football

The voice of Tennessee football is first-year coach Lane Kiffin, who is not at a loss for words even after a loss.

The star is Eric Berry, who, after three games, is on pace for back-to-back All-American seasons.

But if you had to put a face on this new era of UT football, Montario Hardesty’s would be appropriate.

UT has had bigger, faster and more elusive running backs. Yet it never has had a running back compete harder than Hardesty.

And isn’t that what UT football is supposed to be about?

In the fifth season of a career marred by injuries — both major and minor — Hardesty has emerged as more than the driving force behind a struggling offense. He has become a role model for a new coaching staff, which demands energy and effort above all else.

Kiffin and his staff no longer have to explain their expectations to a new player. All they need is a Hardesty video.

Every one of his 20 runs in Saturday’s loss to Florida had an almost-desperate quality to it, as though a championship was hanging in the balance.

That wasn’t a revelation. It was what we saw throughout preseason camp, even while freshman running backs were capturing much of our attention.

Hardesty had a new look about him as well. He didn’t look like a running back whose career was sabotaged by an ACL injury, as Hardesty’s was as a freshman. He looked more like a former high school sprinter who could cover 100 meters in 10.3 seconds, as Hardesty did in New Bern, N.C.

The preseason wasn’t an aberration. It was a preview.

After three games, Hardesty is already closing in on a career year. The same player who had never gained more than 384 yards in a season has 348.

The yards gained don’t do justice to his success story. You have to see the tape. You have to watch him attack opponents as though he is a linebacker who just happens to have a football under his arm.

You saw his relentless running against Florida when he gained 96 yards on 20 carries. And he gained most of that against an eight-man front, which had to pay no more than token respect to UT’s whisper’s worth of a passing game.

UT football has been blessed with numerous exceptional running backs. None of them expended more effort play after play than Hardesty did in The Swamp against one of the nation’s most formidable defenses.

You don’t gain 96 yards against that defense on effort alone.

Hardesty looks faster than at any other time in his college career. He also seemingly hits the hole quicker and cuts with more authority. In fact, he looks like an NFL running back.

Hopefully, he can get there in one piece while running without a complementary passing attack and behind an offensive line that is already painfully thin due to injuries.

No matter where Hardesty goes next, he will leave something behind if he plays the rest of the season as he has the first three games. His highlight video should become required viewing for UT’s next freshman class.

Kiffin can preface it with a simple: “Here’s what we expect.”

Hardesty can take it from there.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.