Alvin Kamara returns to Tuscaloosa as Vols playmaker

TUSCALOOSA (TNS) — Alvin Kamara spent one season at Alabama before he decided to look elsewhere for playing opportunities.

After a year in junior college, the former four-star recruit found his way to one of his former team’s biggest rivals — Tennessee.

Roughly 21 months after transferring, Kamara returns to Bryant-Denny Stadium today when the Volunteers come to town for their annual “Third Saturday in October” rivalry game, set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

“Playing (at Alabama), I enjoyed my time there, but I’m here now, and I’m with these guys here at Tennessee,” Kamara told Knoxville media Wednesday.

“It’ll be a fun experience just being (back) in Bryant-Denny, but at the end of the day, we have a job to do over here, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Kamara was a highly recruited tailback from Norcross, Georgia, in 2013, when he chose Alabama over his home state Bulldogs.

“We thought Alvin was an outstanding player,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said Wednesday. “He probably would have played here for us as a freshman and he got a knee injury, just a scope that kept him out for three or four weeks right at a critical time early in the season. Then we could never get him back in the swing of things because he missed so much time. He got a little frustrated with it, but we’re happy to see he’s doing well.”

After a season at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, Kamara signed with Tennessee in December with three years of eligibility remaining.

“It’ll be fun this week just being able to see those guys because I’m still good friends with a lot of them, love those guys,” Kamara said of his former Tide teammates. “But you want to win, (so) we might not be friends after the game, but it’s all good.”

In six games, Kamara has provided the Volunteers (3-3, 1-2 SEC) with a speedy complement to 240-pound starting tailback Jalen Hurd, and even broke out with 144 rushing yards in his first game against Bowling Green.

While playing mostly as a backup, Kamara is Tennessee’s third leading rusher with 255 yards and three touchdowns, behind Hurd and junior quarterback Josh Dobbs.

One Alabama player who is looking forward to seeing Kamara again is senior middle linebacker Reggie Ragland, who still considers Kamara his “little brother.”

“Anytime that he needed someone when he was here, he came to me, and if I could help him out, I helped him out,” Ragland said in August.

“It’s going to be fun. I think so, knowing how he is, he’s a good dude on and off the field. He had his little issues here, but … I think (when) we play them it’s going to be a friendly meeting with one another because there are others on the team who have love for him, and I have love for him, regardless,”

Kamara left Alabama amid some troubles after being suspended for the 2014 Sugar Bowl and then getting arrested a month after announcing his decision to transfer in his hometown for driving with a suspended license, among other charges, according to various reports.

“A lot of things happened at Alabama, but just appreciative of my time there,” Kamara said.