Nothing has changed for Dylan Sampson.
Days before the Tennessee sophomore running back is set to make his first career start in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa, Sampson's approach has remained the same.
"I'm just blessed. It's just time to go to work," Sampson said. "This is something that I've been preparing for my whole time that I've been here, so I'm ready to go to work. Mindset has been the same. Just be dominant and go out there and show them who I am."
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Sampson has shown his abilities in spurts over the last two seasons. He impressed as a freshman a year ago, earning carries and solidifying himself in the No. 3 spot in the running backs room before essentially becoming the second man in the rotation behind Jaylen Wright.
Wright, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and spearheaded the Vols' offense much of the regular season, is off to the NFL and Jabari Small opted out of the bowl game earlier this week.
Now, Sampson finds himself in position to lead Tennessee's backfield.
"I think (the workload) could probably look a little bit different," Sampson said. "Probably similar to what it was a year ago when I was a freshman. I'm ready for that. This is what I want. It's what I've been wanting, having the opportunity to showcase and help my teammates. It's going to be a new and good mental space that I'm going to adjust to but it's going to be fun."
Sampson is second on the team in rushing, accounting for 471 yards and six touchdowns on 86 carries and a receiving touchdown.
Of the Vols' three running backs during the season, Sampson provided a different skill set that was evident in games against UTSA and Kentucky.
He posted a season-high 139 yards against the Roadrunners in week 3 and took over in the fourth quarter of a 33-27 win vs. the Wildcats on Oct. 28, rushing for 76 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown after Wright left the game with an injury late.
WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson meets with media ahead of Citrus Bowl
Sampson will face his toughest test yet against an Iowa defense that ranks top 15 nationally in stopping the run, limiting teams to just 102.5 yards per game.
"I wasn't too much familiar (with Iowa's defense) just because I was playing in the SEC, but you watch their film, you watch their TV copies of the games, man, they play strong, they play physical," Sampson said. "They want it. It's going to be a good challenge for us going against this defense. It's going to be fun going against them in this bowl game."
He won't have to carry the load alone, though.
The bowl offers up opportunities for freshmen Cam Seldon and Kahlifa Keith, too. Coaches raved about the 6-foot-2, 222-pound Seldon last spring. He played mostly special teams but had 12 carries for 51 yards in four games at running back.
"(Seldon) just wants to learn. He's real intentional," Sampson said. "Any questions he has, he's going to ask it. He's a freak athlete. I think everybody is going to see that...The athletic stuff is going to speak for itself, but the mental mindset that he comes to the game with, to get better each and every day. You can't teach that. That's hard to teach."
WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava meets with media ahead of Citrus Bowl
Sampson only has 19 career games to his resume and has yet to get first-team carries in a meaningful game, but has the attitude of a seasoned veteran.
It's why he was named to the team's leadership council early in his sophomore season and it's why Seldon and Keith and the rest of the Vols' offense, which will also feature new starting quarterback in Nico Iamaleava, can lean on him.
“Just the way (Sampson) has played throughout the course of the season and he’ll have more opportunities in this one," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. "But he’s smart. He’s competitive. He’s a really good leader. He’s been dynamic when he’s had opportunities and the ball’s been in space. We’re going to need him to play and function there at a really high level.”
"I think it's just consistency, trying to be who I am every single day," Sampson added. "There's days where you really don't want to come in and be the energy guy...That's kind of who I am. I talk to everybody. I try to connect with people, I get people going. If that's who I am, that who I've got to be every single day."
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