ESPN's Greg McElroy calls out the Tennessee Vols for usage of key player in loss to Georgia Bulldogs
Former Alabama quarterback/ESPN analyst Greg McElroy called out the Tennessee Vols for the way that junior running back Dylan Sampson was used in UT's 31-17 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. While reviewing the game on Monday, McElroy pointed out that he didn't think Sampson received nearly enough touches against Georgia. Sampson rushed for 101 yards […]
Former Alabama quarterback/ESPN analyst Greg McElroy called out the Tennessee Vols for the way that junior running back Dylan Sampson was used in UT's 31-17 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.
While reviewing the game on Monday, McElroy pointed out that he didn't think Sampson received nearly enough touches against Georgia.
Sampson rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries in the loss to the Bulldogs. He also caught three passes for 16 yards.
"I did not think they featured Dylan Sampson enough," said McElroy. "Just 19 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. In a game of that significance, I would've hoped that Dylan Sampson would get 25-plus carries. In a perfect world, he gets 30-plus carries. Because he's your best offensive weapon. Instead, just 19 (carries). Only 100 (yards) and only one touchdown. He needs to be featured more in big games like this down the stretch."
It's easy to say this in hindsight, but I think McElroy is spot on with his take about Sampson.
The Baton Rouge native is clearly Tennessee's best offensive player this season. And for the Vols to have a chance to win that game in Athens, Sampson needed to touch the ball more than 22 times.
Just look at Tennessee's loss to the Missouri Tigers last season. Mizzou leaned heavily on running back Cody Schrader, giving him 40 touches (Schrader totaled over 300 yards) in the Tigers' 36-7 win against the Vols.
No one else for Missouri totaled more than 56 yards in that win against Tennessee last season. Do the Tigers still win if Schrader touches the ball only 22 times? Probably. But do they still win by 29 points? Probably not.
Tennessee's best chance of hitting on chunk plays right now is via Sampson. The Vols should've leaned on him more against the Bulldogs. But as we said, hindsight is 20/20 — Tennessee just can't make that same mistake next month if they end up reaching the College Football Playoff.
Kirby Smart’s comments after beating Tennessee should help the Vols’ playoff case
Maybe they’ll listen
