Kamara returns to ’Bama with heavy heart
Vols RB mourns ex-Tide teammate
Alvin Kamara wanted this week to be like any other before tragedy made it impossible.
Tennessee’s game at No. 8 Alabama on Saturday means the redshirt sophomore running back returns to Tuscaloosa for the first time since he transferred after the 2013 season. When the week began, he was excited to see old friends and to finally play at Bryant-Denny Stadium after redshirting in his first year at Alabama.
But he was trying to save his emotions for Saturday.
“I kind of tried to treat it like any other week besides the fact that it’s my old school,” Kamara said Wednesday after coach Butch Jones’ press conference. “... At the end of the day, we’ve got a job to do over here. That’s what I’m focused on. Me and my team focusing on getting another win.”
Maintaining focus became more difficult Wednesday morning.
That is when Kamara learned that Altee Tenpenny, a fellow former Alabama running back, had died in a car accident near Glen Allen, Mississippi, on Tuesday evening. Tenpenny, who had transferred to UNLV, then Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana, was traveling alone when his 2008 Dodge Charger hit road signs and flipped, according to the Associated Press. He was thrown from the car.
“We came in the same class,” Kamara said after tearing up and then composing himself. “Running backs, same room. Me and Altee kind of went through the same things at Alabama. He ended up transferring. I transferred. Altee, nothing but love for Altee. What was so sad is I talked to him, actually (Tuesday). Just to wake up and get that news was heartbreaking. I know those guys over there are hurting, but it hurts me a lot. I know he’s resting easy now.”
Tenpenny’s death surely will darken the mood at Bryant-Denny on Saturday, overshadowing Kamara’s return as a story line. But his old coaches and teammates will be pleased to see how he’s recovered two years after the low point in his football career.
“We’re happy to see that he’s doing well,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference. “He has been a really, really good player for Tennessee this year.”
Kamara played at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas in 2014. At Tennessee, Kamara has rushed for 255 yards and three touchdowns, caught 15 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns and returned five punts for 84 yards and a touchdown.
“The juco transfer doesn’t always have a good connotation with it,” Tennessee offensive lineman Kyler Kerbyson said. “... Alvin came in here and he was the best kind of surprise. ... His work ethic and how much he really wants to succeed shows you that he took it for granted and now is really working hard for it.”
That should give Kamara’s old teammates and coaches reason to be proud. However, he and they will have someone else on their minds on Saturday.
“Altee, I love you with everything in me,” Kamara posted on his Twitter account Wednesday. “Rest up.”