What Tennessee running backs coach De'Rail Sims said on Tuesday

What Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims said during his press conference on Tuesday, looking ahead to Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt:

How Tennessee freshman Peyton Lewis has progressed, how Dylan Sampson is handling the heavy workload

“I think Peyton is a lot further along now in terms of confidence, in terms of the way he’s going out here playing. I think you see him now from a physicality standpoint that he’s not hesitant whatsoever. He’s on the attack every time he get the ball. So I think the biggest deal now for us is just continue to teach him to grow that next aspect, making people miss. You don’t have to be a bowling ball every time. But I think he’s done a really good job from a developmental standpoint to where he is now.

“Dylan has been good from a workload standpoint. I know last week wasn’t as heavy as it has been in the past, but he did a really good job of controlling what he can control and taking advantage of his opportunities and did a phenomenal job on the reps he did get.”

How Tennessee would manage the workload if Dylan Sampson is closing in on a school crushing record

“You know what, I think it’s one of those situations where we have to cross that bridge hopefully when we get there. The biggest deal is it has been a blessing to coach him and see his progression all year long. And how hungry he has been. Not only hungry from the standpoint of being on the field, wanting to be a playmaker, but also from the standpoint of wanting to be a leader, wanting to bring the younger guys along in the room. Even at practice, watching him coach up the younger guys has been phenomenal. Because I think the number one deal is the see traits that he has, the leadership qualities that he has, and they see what hard work does for you. And he’s a prime example of that, which has been good.” 

What he’s thankful for this holiday season

“Number 1, being able to be here. I’m thankful for that. God’s blessed me my family with this opportunity to come here, to this university, this program, which has been phenomenal. Then thankful for my family that I have inside this building, thankful for my family that I have at home. Just thankful to be alive, to be honest with you.”

How much a back like Peyton Lewis can grow up in a game like Georgia 

“I think that experience when he went out there and he was able to make the plays and gain the yards that he did, you can see his confidence raised to another level. Like, he’s always been confident in himself, but to be able to do it in that environment on that stage, gave him another level of confidence. And you saw it just grow tremendously. And everything about him now, like, you have the 20 practices, no matter how many practices you get against, you know, your own teammates will be able to go do that in that environment on that stage. 

That gives you tremendous confidence when you have to go out and have success, so it’s really good.”

How he sees Dylan Sampson stacking up against other running backs in college football

“I think he’s the best back in the country, in my opinion. In terms of production that he’s been able to do, especially in this league. His confidence. Number one, being able to be with him every single day, from the way he goes and attacks the process. And things he’s been able to do from tenacity standpoint. When the team needs a spark plug, he’s able to be that guy. Coach Heup always talks about it. It only takes one match to start a fire. And a lot of times we get in critical situations and he’s the guy that jump starts the fire and gets us rolling in the right direction. In my opinion, he’s the best back in the country.”

The culture and chemistry of Tennessee’s coaching staff

“It’s really good. It’s a competitive environment in terms of everyone is trying to push each other to continue to grow. I think the thing that you see is there’s no egos in the room, and that’s on offense, defense, and the special teams. Like, everybody’s working together to make each other better, which has been tremendous. And I think you see that pour over into our whole entire team. 

That it’s no separation whatsoever. Everybody’s locked in, 10 toes down together, and that’s been phenomenal. But the thing about it is each coach that sits around that table, they pour into each other. And it’s one of those situations that you’re learning from each other. And I think that’s why from this point that we’re on right now in the season, and it’s kind of been that way the whole season, is that we continue to get better and better week in and week out. 

Because I may see something that another coach is doing and vice versa, and we’re able to give each other tips and and and pointers from that standpoint. So it’s awesome.”

How Peyton Lewis tries to approach practice like a pro

“It’s it’s been a big help for him. I think with Peyton, as he goes about this, like, the way he approaches the meeting room and then he carries that over into practice, he’s not a guy that comes out there and it’s about fun and games. It’s about business when he steps on the field. So his mentality kind of changes totally. When he steps between the white lines, his face goes stone cold and he’s about his business. Now he’s critical of himself. It’s a lot of times, like early in the game on Saturday, he missed one cut and he was critical of himself. I said, man, listen, it’s going to come back to you. Just calm down. 

It’s going to come back to you and it did later in the game. So that was awesome.” 

If there was anything that surprised him about Dylan Sampson once he got to Tennessee 

“To be honest with you, the physicality portion of it, to be able to see him go in there like, you see him now going in from a pass protection standpoint, the way he goes in there, he’s aggressive and he’s attacking. The as many tackles as he breaks when he’s running the ball, you always knew about the explosiveness aspect of it, you always knew about him being able to make people miss. But when you see him inside the line of scrimmage in a box and as many tackles as he breaks and as many yards that he’s gaining at the contact, that’s the part about his game that I was like, OK, he’s taking this thing to another level. 

But everything else from a personality standpoint, a work ethic standpoint, I already knew about that, and he was awesome.” 

If he thinks the rest of the country realizes how physical and productive Dylan Sampson has been this season

“I do think the rest of the country understands that about him. I think everybody kind of sees week in and week out the production and the consistency that he’s been able to have. So I do think that they recognize that.” 

Facing Vanderbilt’s defense

“With Vanderbilt, I think the number one deal is they’re going to play physical. They’re going to play tough. You sit up there and you look at their front seven, they do a really good job in terms of being able to get on and get off blocks, but they’re physical in terms of those front four do a phenomenal job of playing directly into the offensive linemen. The linebackers do a really good job of playing downhill. Everything that they do is textbook wise in terms of how they fit the gaps versus the runs, whether that’s zone runs or gap schemes. And then the secondary ties into that as well. You see through that defense, the personality of the head coach. You see it from a cerebral standpoint in terms of how they’re lining up schematically. And then you see the physicality portion, in terms of how they attack and going to attack people in terms of running the football. And they’ve done that all season long. Like it has not been a drop off. You see that consistently with them. No matter what the structure is, they’re on the attack, and they’re doing a really good job of being physical. 

How they handle College Football Playoff talk through the week

“Being able to control what we can control. The number one deal is how we go out here and attack this practice, but the biggest deal is how we go out here and execute in the games. Like, everything outside of this building is going to take care of itself, but we have to be able to go out and control our execution in terms of how we operate and then also the efficiency that we’re doing it with.  And then going out here having fun, like you gotta enjoy this moment. Like, the biggest deal is it’s Thanksgiving weekend. You’re playing on a national stage in a big game that we’ve earned the right to be in. Like, that’s that. It’s nothing better than that. So we control what we can control inside this building, which is our attitude and our effort. And then everything outside of that, it’ll take care of itself.”