Vols running backs make early impression in spring camp
Dylan Sampson felt like every time he touched the ball he was going to break off a big run. He was right.
The Tennessee running back did more than just prove himself as a capable back up behind Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright when he ran for a career-high 98 yards and one touchdown on eight carries in the Vols' 66-24 shellacking of Missouri last season.
Two weeks later, Sampson burst through the Vanderbilt defense for an 80-yard touchdown run.
The freshman had arrived.
“My favorite moment (from last season) may be the Vandy game when I broke it for 80,” Sampson said. “But my favorite game, I’d probably say Missouri just because it felt like every run I was hitting was just out the gate. It was a good day on the ground for me and probably one of my bigger SEC games played.”
Sampson expects more of those moments in his second season. So does the Tennessee coaching staff.
The Vols are set to return much of their production at running back with Small, Wright and Sampson on the roster.
Small has been sidelined in spring practices with an injury, but there’s plenty of optimism surrounding the group through two weeks of camp.
Sampson certainly doesn’t see a crowded running backs room as a problem.
“I feel like with my progression, (the coaches) will probably trust me a little bit more in my sophomore year,” Sampson said. “But I believe this is a good thing for our running back room. You don’t ever want to be short or limited on running backs. Last year we were a little short, but we were all able to get through the season.
“We get a healthy running back room back in the fall, it’s going to be real, real dangerous.”
Sampson arrived at Tennessee as a summer enrollee last offseason and worked his way into the rotation, earning more carries as the season wore on as Small battled a shoulder injury.
He finished his freshman campaign with nearly 400 yards and six touchdowns.
Sampson’s confidence in keeping pace and understanding Tennessee’s patented tempo offense has grown since then.
“I would say just operating within this offense,” Sampson said. “I came in and I tried to learn as quickly as I can, but when you get real reps and when you get game reps, you come in with a different sense of confidence.
“Now it’s about taking the next step, being solid in pass protection and just operating quickly in this offense like a vet.”
DeSean Bishop is now in a position similar to the one Sampson was when he first arrived on campus last summer.
The Knoxville product who played his prep football at nearby Karns High School has also made an impression.
“The No. 1 thing is (Bishop) just runs hard,” Sampson said. “I think that’s the thing that you could at least ask (a freshman) to do, especially when they’re thinking about plays and lining up with how fast we play. He runs hard and he finishes plays.
“He’s still getting it together learning how to play fast, but he’s been doing really good with his physicality and his effort.”
Both running backs impressed in Tennessee’s first spring scrimmage last Saturday at Neyland Stadium, making the most of their opportunities with Small out.
“I thought there were times we ran the ball extremely efficiently and effectively, creating a couple of big plays. The young running back DeSean Bishop did some really nice things today—pressing the hole and coming out of the back side. Dylan Sampson too. There are a lot of things we can get a lot better at too.
“I thought our pass protection at times was good but there's some things we have to clean up."
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