Josh Heupel on Dylan Sampson's record-breaking season: 'He's special, man'
NASHVILLE — Josh Heupel didn’t know what else to say Saturday afternoon at FirstBank Stadium. Dylan Sampson had just set Tennessee’s new single-season rushing yards record in the 36-23 win at Vanderbilt and the head coach was struggling to find the right description for his junior running back.
“I don’t even know if I have the right words to describe D-Samp,” Heupel said, “and what he means to our team, just as a player and as a leader. But I don’t know if anybody’s played the position better than he has this year.”
Sampson finished the game with a season-high 178 yards rushing on 25 carries. He passed the previous mark of 1,464 yards by Travis Stephens in 2001 on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter. He went for 13 yards on his next attempt to finish the regular season with 1,485 yards.
Dylan Sampson this season: 256 carries, 1,485 yards, 22 touchdowns
“He’s dynamic,” Heupel said. “Plays great without the ball in his hands. And talk about, when the ball is in his hands, making things happen. Dynamic plays, muddy threes and fours (yard gains).”
Earlier this season Sampson broke the new Tennessee record for single-season rushing touchdowns, with the new mark now at 22. He tied the modern record with his 17th rushing touchdown of the season against Alabama in October and set the new record a week later against Kentucky.
Sampson became Tennessee’s 20th running back to go over 1,000 yards for the season when he ran for 149 yards on a season-high 30 carries against Mississippi State on November 9.
“He’s special, man,” Heupel said. “He’s played the position this year as well as anybody I’ve ever had.”
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He has 35 rushing touchdowns in 31 career games, tying the modern record held by James Stewart. He is just two shy of matching Gene McEver’s record of 37 between 1928 and 1931.
Sampson had six touchdowns as a freshman in 2022 and seven more last season, while also catching a touchdown pass last season.
He has rushed for 100 or more yards in 10 of 12 games this season and 130 or more yards six times. He had multiple rushing touchdowns in seven games, including three with three or more.
“I think he’s the best back in the country, in my opinion,” Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims said this week, “in terms of production that he’s been able to do, especially in this league.”
