DeSean Bishop burst onto the scene as freshman newcomer in his first spring scrimmage two years ago.

Now the Tennessee redshirt-sophomore running back is the headliner of the Vols' backfield after its first spring scrimmage at Neyland Stadium late Monday.

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Bishop, a Knoxville native that starred at nearby Karns High School where he was a Tennessee Class 5A Mr. Football award winner, suffered a season-ending injury on the eve of his freshman season in 2023, but came back to work his way into a bigger role last season.

Bishop took a bulk of the No. 2 reps behind Dylan Sampson, who shattered program rushing and scoring records during an SEC Offensive Player of the Year campaign. Sampson is off to the NFL, and Cam Seldon and Khalifa Keith transferred, leaving Bishop as the veteran in the running backs room

He rushed for 455 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards every time he touched the ball and 45.5 yards per game in 10 games during the Vols' run to the College Football Playoff, flashing the hard-nosed running ability that coaches touted two years ago.

Peyton Lewis made a strong first impression, too as a freshman last season.

The 6-foot-1, 212-pound Lewis missed time in fall camp with injury, but played in all 13 games, finishing with 339 yards and three scores. He averaged more than five yards per carry and 26.1 yards per game.

He and Bishop impressed in a scrimmage that was by all accounts dominated by offense, showing improvement in pass protection and breaking runs.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: What Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel said after spring scrimmage

"I thought DeSean and Peyton (Lewis) did a really nice job today in the run game, but also in pass protection," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. "I thought the young guys that are new to our football team went out and executed extremely well. Popped some runs. But I liked the way that they finished them getting pad under pad and going plus-two."

Bishop and Lewis may be the leaders, but Tennessee has some depth to work with.

Star Thomas is among those newcomers. He was an experienced transfer portal addition that rushed for 871 yards and seven touchdowns on 213 carries at Duke last season and played two seasons at New Mexico State.

Daune Morris, an in-state standout at middle Tennessee prep football power Oakland and Justin Baker, who starred in Georgia Class 7A at Buford were both early enrollees and have been with the program since playoff practices last December.

The three will try and make some headway over the next couple of weeks of spring practices and make their case for getting in on the rotation behind Bishop and Lewis.

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