Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop is in the midst of one of the best individual seasons in Vols history.

Bishop has 1,066 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns through nine games. Most of those yards have come in crunch time (he leads FBS with 369 fourth quarter rushing yards).

The Tennessee native has another season of eligibility remaining, but it’s unclear at this point if he plans to return to Rocky Top or enter the 2027 NFL Draft.

Bishop isn’t far from setting the all-time rushing record at Tennessee, but there’s no guarantee he’ll get the record before the end of the 2026 season (he needs 482 yards to break Travis Henry’s program record). That’s something that could potentially factor into his decision.

“I think DeSean has thoughts on the National Football League, said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs earlier this month on WNML’s SportsTalk. “He’s having his best year. He’s been a complete back. He’s caught the ball better out of the backfield. He’s finishing his runs really well. But we’ll see where he’s at a month from now

“What’s his stock going to be for the NFL draft? What’s his stock going to be a year from now if he came back for another year and took another year of wear and tear [in the SEC] on his body? All those things will be under consideration for DeSean Bishop when he looks at it. Records are great, and there’s no question DeSean would like to have those records and he would like to be entrenched at the top of those [records]. But at the same time, too, I think he will look at it very holistically in terms of where he is — how much can he help himself with another year in college versus where he would be from a draft standpoint right now. All of those things will factor into DeSean Bishop’s process once this season is done.”

If Bishop were to return for another season, he’d share carries with 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, a Vols commit who is expected to see significant playing time as a true freshman next season.

Bishop told On3’s Chris Low this week that he has a lot of games left before he has to make a decision.

He also told On3 that he can envision a scenario where he shares carries with Gabriel Georges in 2027.

“Yes, it would be disgusting, the two of us together. I ain’t going to lie,” said Bishop.

“He’s what people say he is. I’ll tell you that, a man amongst boys,” added Bishop of Gabriel Georges.

A backfield with Bishop and Gabriel Georges would be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Neither of those players goes down easy.

For now, the focus for Bishop is on beating Texas A&M this weekend. At some point, though, he’ll have a decision to make, and it sounds like a return to Tennessee in 2027 is something he’s at least going to consider.