Who is set to start at running back for the Tennessee Vols in 2025?
The Tennessee Vols have some huge shoes to fill with running back Dylan Sampson heading to the NFL after his record-breaking 2024 season. Sampson set a program record for rushing yards in a season (1,491) and rushing touchdowns in a season (22) during his lone season as the featured running back in Tennessee's offense (Sampson […]
The Tennessee Vols have some huge shoes to fill with running back Dylan Sampson heading to the NFL after his record-breaking 2024 season.
Sampson set a program record for rushing yards in a season (1,491) and rushing touchdowns in a season (22) during his lone season as the featured running back in Tennessee's offense (Sampson split carries with Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small during his first two seasons in Knoxville).
With Sampson moving on, it leaves DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis, and Duke transfer Star Thomas as the Volunteers' top three running back options.
So who should be considered the starter?
For now, VolQuest's Austin Price thinks it's Bishop, based on the way the Vols finished the 2024 season.
"I think the first guy that will start the season will be DeSean Bishop," said Price during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will. "Now, could Peyton Lewis get by him with a strong spring and strong fall camp? Sure, I think it's pretty close. But if you just go back to who Tennessee's No. 2 tailback was all of last year, it was DeSean Bishop. So I'll start kind of with where they finished the season, as far as kind of the pecking order. And then we'll see if Peyton Lewis or anybody else can get by DeSean Bishop between now and the Syracuse game. But I do think it'll be a lot more by committee. I think you'll see a lot more rotating this year than you saw last year. Last year, I mean, if it was crunch time, you knew who was gonna be in the game (Sampson)…..I just don't think, as of right now, there is that crunch time back. I think it'll be kind of whoever's got the hot hand."
Bishop was second in rushing yards for the Vols last season with 455 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 74 carries. Lewis, meanwhile totaled 339 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 64 carries.
With Thomas in the mix, Tennessee is expected to go back to the three-headed monster approach that was effective in 2022 and 2023. That approach should allow Tennessee's running backs to stay fresh deep into the 2025 season, unlike in 2024 when Sampson seemingly ran out of gas in the College Football Playoff after being leaned on so heavily throughout the regular season.
