Vols 'heartbroken' for freshman RB DeSean Bishop after injury
Jerry Mack described himself as “heartbroken” Friday while discussing the injury that sidelined freshman DeSean Bishop last week, but Tennessee’s running backs coach it could be a benefit down the road.
“Obviously you use reps to actually get better,” Mack said, “and we’re heartbroken about that (the injury) because man, that guy was really doing a good job. He was coming (on). We had really high (hopes) the first part of the season.”
Volquest’s Austin Price reported Wednesday morning that Bishop suffered an ankle injury in Tennessee’s first scrimmage of fall camp and that he would miss extended time.
Head coach Josh Heupel confirmed the injury Wednesday afternoon, after the Vols held their second scrimmage at Neyland Stadium.
Josh Heupel: DeSean Bishop will ‘be out of an extended period of time’
“DeSean is not out for the year,” Heupel said, “but he’ll be out for an extended period of time, probably a couple months.”
Bishop was a local three-star prospect out of Knoxville’s Karns High School. He rushed for 6,783 yards and had 81 rushing touchdowns in 35 prep games over four seasons, including a career-high 3,179 yards and 34 touchdowns in 12 games as a junior in 2021.
He enrolled early at Tennessee and went through spring practice with the Vols. He had 88 yards in his debut in the Orange & White Game in April.
“Not surprising what DeSean’s done,” Heupel said during the spring. “He’s handled the transitioning into college football extremely well. We thought he was extremely athletic. I thought he had great vision and pace as a running back coming out of high school.
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“He’s done a really good job of handling the communication system and not being too big for him since day one. I’m proud of what he’s done.”
Vols have added depth at running back in 2023
Tennessee has plenty of running back depth ahead of Bishop, with junior Jaylen Wright and senior Jabari Small as the top two backs, ahead of sophomore Dylan Sampson and freshmen Cameron Seldon and Khalifa Keith.
Mack said Friday he was hopeful that Bishop “may get an opportunity to come in this season at some point in time.”
“But I do think, you treat it like a redshirt, it’s a chance for him to get in the weight room,” Mack said, looking for the positives to Bishop being sidelined. “It’s a chance for him to continue to grow just his baseline, as far as in our system and what we want.
“And I have no reserve about saying he’s gonna come back in the spring and be a part of a different player. Just the simple fact that he’s going to understand all the ins and outs, things that he did not understand quite as well previously.”
