DeSean Bishop impressed with Vols in opener, ready to watch in person
It was an eventful Friday at nearby Karns High School for 2023 athlete DeSean Bishop.
Not only was the Beavers’ star running back preparing for a monster matchup against five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen and the Powell Panthers, but he received a visit from Vols head coach Josh Heupel early that morning.
“He stopped by to wish me good luck for (our game against Powell),” Bishop told Volquest following Powell’s 48-20 win on Friday night. “He just wanted to stop by and say hello, and talk to my coaches. My coaches said that he liked a lot of stuff about me. Said that he looked forward to recruiting me.”
It was the first of two trips out to Karns on Friday for Heupel. He returned that evening to watch Bishop play in-person. Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner accompanied Heupel as well in order to take in Nolen’s performance.
Bishop rushed for over 150 yards against Powell, while rushing for a score, taking a fake punt to the house, and reeling off a big kick return to spark a Karns scoring drive.
“It’s just a blessing and a good feeling for me that I have a head coach out here watching me play,” Bishop said. “It’s a motivator to keep pushing hard.
“I think I played pretty well against Walter. He’s a (heck) of a player, probably one of the best guys I’ve ever played against. He’s literally everywhere. It’s good competition. I love playing games like this. It’s good to play against players highly rated like him.”
It was a quick turnaround for Heupel, coming off a late-night 38-6 win over Bowling Green the previous day to begin his tenure at Tennessee in the win column. Still, getting out to Karns, as well as other schools in the area, remained at the top of the to-do-list.
Bishop paid attention to the Vols’ win over Bowling Green. He especially noticed both of Tennessee’s running backs, Jabari Small and Tiyon Evans, rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown apiece.
“I was watching on my phone and loved what I saw," Bishop said. "I loved their tempo and that their running backs had over 100 yards. They ran the ball well and it’s just an entirely different team. They run tempo, they make explosive plays and their line is amazing, too.”
Bishop camped with Tennessee over the summer and picked up an offer on the same day after impressing UT’s coaching staff. Now the emphasis is to get over to Neyland Stadium as soon as possible and he’s eyeing next Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh.
“The next game, I’ll definitely probably be there,” Bishop said. “I want to see the energy because it’s hard to tell watching over the phone, but I’m wanting to see how the energy and vibe is different compared to recent years.”