Watch: Tennessee Dylan Sampson's touchdown run in Thursday's scrimmage
Dylan Sampson started left, made his way through the line of scrimmage, then just started floating back to his right. There was no one in front of him Thursday morning during Tennessee’s second spring scrimmage at Neyland Stadium. The sophomore running back was off to the races and it wasn’t a race he was going to lose.
Tennessee football showed off the highlight play on social media later in the day, not long after head coach Josh Heupel highlighted his running backs for their performance in the scrimmage.
“I thought the running backs as a group did some really positive things,” Heupel said while meeting with reporters at Neyland Stadium. “Dylan Sampson made some people miss, did a great job pressing double teams. Cam Seldon did a really nice job running the football, good job taking care of it. DeSean Bishop. There were a lot of really good things from that running back room in particular.”
He's like that @dylans21527 #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/ukwn4yVhjs
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) April 6, 2023
Both Sampson and Bishop had touchdown runs in the scrimmage. The two have a spotlight in the backfield with senior Jabari Small sidelined during spring camp.
Jaylen Wright led the Vols with 875 net rushing yards last season, carrying 146 times and averaging 6.0 yards per attempt, with 10 touchdowns. Small had a team-high 13 rushing touchdowns and carried a team-high 157 times for 734 yards.
Sampson during his freshman season played in 10 games, rushing 58 times for 411 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. He was a four-star prospect out of Dutchtown High School in Geismar, Louisiana.
He had two touchdowns in the win over Akron in September, rushing eight times for 57 yards, and went for a season-high 131 yards on 12 carries, including an 80-yard touchdown, in the 56-0 win at Vanderbilt in November.
On Monday, Sampson said he’s better at simply operating in the Tennessee offense after having been on campus for a year.
“I came in and I tried to learn as quickly as a could,” he said, “but when you get real game reps, you come in with a different sense of confidence.”
Up Next: Tennessee’s Orange & White Game, April 15, 2:30 p.m. ET, Neyland Stadium
Bishop, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound freshman, was a three-star prospect out of Knoxville’s Karns High School, opting to play for his hometown team.
Heupel said Bishop will be needed in the fall, just like the Vols will need Small, Wright, Sampson and Seldon.
“You never know when your opportunity is going to come,” Heupel said. “We’re going to need all these guys throughout the course of the season. Competition. Iron sharpens iron. We’re going to need that, absolutely. Everybody on this roster better believe they have the opportunity to play next fall and continue to sharpen their skills.”
Sampson saw it first hand last season.
“You don’t ever want to be short or limited on running backs,” he said. “Last year we were a little short, but we were all able to get through that season. Jabari Small did get banged up a few times, but we got a healthy running back room coming into the fall and it’s going to be really dangerous. We all compliment and help each other.”
