Tennessee Vols' Dylan Sampson on pace to break impressive record set by Alabama superstar
It's been quite a year for Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson. The talented ballcarrier has been the straw that's stirred the drink for the Vols' offense in 2024. By the time the season wraps up, it will almost certainly have been a record-setting year for Sampson in Knoxville. With just one more rushing touchdown, he […]
It's been quite a year for Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson. The talented ballcarrier has been the straw that's stirred the drink for the Vols' offense in 2024.
By the time the season wraps up, it will almost certainly have been a record-setting year for Sampson in Knoxville. With just one more rushing touchdown, he will tie former Tennessee running back Gene McEver with 18 in a season, which would tie the school record that the latter set in 1929.
However, there is another even bigger record that Sampson is currently cruising towards, and it's one that goes beyond the Tennessee football record books. Sampson is currently on pace to surpass former Alabama running back Derrick Henry for most rushing touchdowns in a season in SEC history.
Henry set the mark in his final season with the Crimson Tide int 2015. Over 15 games, Henry totaled a number of astonishing stats. He led all of college football in rush attempts (395), rushing yards (2209), and rushing touchdowns (28). That incredible workhorse effort earned Henry the Heisman Trophy while Alabama went on to win the national championship.
Now, Sampson has a legitimate chance to surpass that mark. Through 7 games, Sampson has 17, which is on pace for 32 in a 13-game season. He'll have at least 6 more games to continue to try to build on that, and depending on how the Vols do against Georgia, that number of games could increase. With Kentucky, Mississippi State, UTEP, and Vanderbilt also left followed by, at the worst, a bowl game, multiple touchdown games from Sampson could be enough to do the trick.
So far this season, Sampson has scored at least 2 touchdowns in every game except the win at Oklahoma, where he scored one. Heupel has also leaned on Sampson more than he's leaned on a single back in recent years. Sampson has dominated the touches with 144 rushes compared to second place DeSean Bishop with 53. Peyton Lewis and Khalifa Keith (17 each) are in third and have basically been non-factors this year.
As such, provided he can stay healthy, it appears that Sampson will get the opportunity to re-write his name in both the Tennessee and SEC record books this season.
Tennessee Vols will see a trend some players don’t like continue against Kentucky next weekend
Fans of the Tennessee Volunteers who are hoping for plenty of tailgating time for the team's next home game are surely thrilled about the kickoff time revealed by the school on Monday. However, some of the players might not be quite as enthusiastic about it. The school announced on Monday the Vols will be taking […]
