Josh Heupel stood at the podium at SEC Media Days on Tuesday and wasn’t shy about talking up his players. The Tennessee Volunteers should be better in the trenches this season, but the question for the team will be who steps up at the skill positions.
According to Heupel, junior running back Dylan Sampson is a contender to step up, and Vols fans should expect to see plenty of him in 2024.
Heupel on Dylan Sampson: He’ll Have Increased Opportunities
Dylan Sampson came to Tennessee as a highly-regarded running back recruit out of Baton Rouge, LA, and immediately flashed as a freshman, averaging 6.8 yards a carry on 56 carries. He followed that up with a 604-yard campaign as a sophomore, still just on 106 carries.
This year, head coach Josh Heupel says he expects Sampson to get more touches than in the past.
“He’s a guy that from the moment he got here, he had great feel and vision,” Heupel said Tuesday during his time at the podium at SEC Media Days.
Sampson has certainly flashed in the past but has never been “the guy” in Knoxville. He has reached double-digit carries in a game just eight times in his career. He’s only had 20 carries in a game once in his Tennessee career, the Cheez-it Citrus Bowl last year against Iowa.
Sampson has flashed his potential in the past, but has only eclipsed 100 yards in a game once in each of the last two seasons. He’s a guy many Volunteer fans have clamored should get more touches over the past two seasons and this might be the year that desire comes to fruition.
With the lack of another proven SEC playmaker on the offense, Sampson could find himself as the number-one option in the fall. The offense should be talented, but Sampson’s experience could make him the go-to guy in Knoxville.
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