How Will The Tennessee Vols Replace Dylan Sampson In 2025?

AtoZ Sports

Lucas Panzica talks about the 2025 Tennessee Vols running game, and how Josh Heupel plans to fill the shoes of Dylan Sampson, who had an incredible 2024 season.

Transcript

00:00As the 2025 college football season gets closer, Tennessee must replace multiple players that

00:06were drafted in the NFL Draft.

00:08As we continue our series on how Tennessee will replace these four players, we now look

00:13at how the Vols will replace the production of running back Dylan Sampson.

00:20Hey, Lucas Panzeke here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports.

00:24So Dylan Sampson was the last Tennessee player to hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft,

00:30going in the fourth round to the Cleveland Browns at pick 126, maybe a little bit later

00:35than some folks expected for Sampson in what was a very deep running back class.

00:39But either way, Sampson's college career is over and he leaves in his wake one of, if

00:44not the most productive seasons by a running back in the history of Tennessee football.

00:50Sampson, one SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

00:52He set a single season program record for rushing yards with 1,491.

00:58A single season program record for rushing touchdowns with a whopping 22 scores on the

01:05ground.

01:05Huge shoes to fill for Tennessee football.

01:08And really, the best way to do it is not going to be to hope one player steps up and is able

01:13to replicate that production.

01:15It feels like it's going to have to be by committee for the Vols to get anywhere close to replacing

01:21the production of the outgoing Dylan Sampson.

01:23So, who are the main three running backs returning for Tennessee last year?

01:28Well, there actually is a little more production coming back than you might initially expect.

01:33Led by Deshaun Bishop.

01:35He comes back with 455 rushing yards from last season and three touchdowns.

01:39Behind him, Peyton Lewis, who returns 339 rush yards and three touchdowns from last season.

01:45So, in total, Tennessee returns 794 yards and six touchdowns on the ground from that 2024 team.

01:53These are guys that were relied upon multiple times throughout the course of the season.

01:57Deshaun Bishop had to carry a load at certain points in that critical Oklahoma game early

02:02on in the year.

02:03Both of these guys had to play extensively in the college football playoff.

02:06As we remember, Dylan Sampson going down with a hamstring very early in that game and

02:11forcing Tennessee to turn to its depth.

02:14So, both Bishop and Lewis have played high levels of football and played in important

02:19games.

02:20And that is critical experience for a Tennessee backfield that is going to need one or both

02:24of them to step up, as well as a third in the mix.

02:27And that is star Thomas, the transfer from Duke.

02:31Productive for the Blue Devils last season.

02:33Thomas comes over to Tennessee after rushing for 871 yards in the ACC in 2024, plus seven rushing

02:40touchdowns.

02:41Those are the three names that you're looking at.

02:43And one thing I'm really curious to see is how much, if at all, Tennessee layers the

02:49option of throwing to the running back out of the backfield into the offense.

02:53It's not something we've seen a ton in the Josh Heupel era, using the running back as

02:57a receiver out of the backfield.

02:59Seems like it's something that could be in the skill set of both Lewis and Deshaun Bishop,

03:04as well as star Thomas, the transfer from Duke.

03:07So Tennessee is going to have to go by committee in 2025 at the running back position.

03:11There is no way for one player to replace the production of Dylan Sampson.

03:15But the good news is all three players have had extensive experience, whether at Tennessee

03:20or another power four level.

03:22And it seems like there's going to be a lot on their plate in 2025, especially to take the

03:27load off a new quarterback, if it is indeed Joey Aguilar.

03:31Either way, Tennessee has a new starter under center and the run game is going to have to

03:35be relied upon as much as it has been at any point in the Josh Heupel era, which is a tall

03:41task.

03:41So Deshaun Bishop, Peyton Lewis and star Thomas, the next men up as Tennessee looks to replace

03:47Dylan Sampson.

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