Tennessee has a big concern that’s quietly developing and no one’s talking about it, but it could be a big problem by the end of the season
Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers have a potential problem quietly developing this season.
Tennessee has a quiet concern developing this season that no one seems to be talking about.
And it’s something that hurt the Vols two years ago.
Tennessee’s passing game — due to youth at the quarterback position — has struggled to find consistency this fall.
As a result, the Vols have had to lean heavily on the run game.
Specifically, Tennessee has had to lean on senior running back DeSean Bishop.
The Tennessee native has 147 touches through the first seven games of the season. Bishop is averaging 29.3 touches per game over Tennessee’s last three games (that includes 34 touches against Auburn and 35 touches against Alabama).
If Bishop continues at the same pace we’ve seen over the last three weeks, he’ll finish the regular season with 294 touches.
Two years ago, the Vols leaned on running back Dylan Sampson in a similar way. Sampson finished the regular season with 255 touches. He was so beat up by the time that Tennessee played Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff that he received only three touches against the Buckeyes.
Sampson was the engine that made Tennessee’s offense run in 2024, and the Vols’ offense wasn’t nearly as effective without him against Ohio State.
“A lot of people thought I got hurt in that game (against Ohio State),” said Sampson in 2025. “But no, I was dealing with a hamstring injury from (the) Vandy (game) and it was lingering and I was trying to talk positive. It was feeling good. The only thing I didn’t have that week of practice was contact and I tried to go out and give my all for my team but it just wasn’t going. I would have been a liability out there and I didn’t want to get anybody else hurt or further injure myself.”
At this point, Bishop is on pace to touch the ball almost 40 times more than Sampson did in 2024.
It’s fair to wonder how effective Bishop will be by the end of the season if he continues at this pace. He’s in incredible shape, but we’ve already seen Bishop get banged up this season to the point that, at times, it’s noticeable when he’s carrying the ball that he’s not 100 percent.
If Tennessee makes the College Football Playoff, they’ll need a fresh Bishop to make any sort of run.
But here’s the problem: the Vols are likely going to need to ride Bishop to get to the playoff.
It’s a catch-22 for Josh Heupel and his staff.
The hope is that Daune Morris, Justin Baker, and Javin Gordon can step up and play a bigger role in the coming weeks to take some of the load off Bishop. But over the last couple of weeks, the Vols have had no choice but to continue to feed Bishop. That’s simply what Tennessee’s had to do to get the win.
I’m just not sure Bishop is going to be able to hold up and still be an effective weapon in December and January if he continues to receive 30-plus carries a game.
