Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson has unquestionably made the most of his opportunity this season as the lead ball carrier for Josh Heupel’s offense. And he had big shoes to fill after the departure of the electric Jaylen Wright to the NFL Draft.
How well has he filled those shoes? He’s busted through them at the seams.
Sampson has been dynamic with the ball in his hands, showing great vision, quickness, and power. Pretty much the holy trinity of the position. Through six games, he leads the SEC in rushing attempts (118), rushing yards (699), and rushing touchdowns (15).
That latter stat is truly an absurd one, and it’s one that, absent injury, will surely have his name in the Tennessee football record books by the end of the season. With the way he’s running, that could happen before the Vols even take to the road again this season.
Sampson needs four more rushing touchdowns to set the school’s single-season record, which has been held by Gene McEver for nearly a century. McEver established the school record with 18 rushing touchdowns back in the 1929 season. The most rushing touchdowns in recent years (recent being stretched to a degree here) is Reggie Cobb in 1987 with 17 and Tony Thompson in 1990 with 16, according to Tennessee Stats and Info.
Sampson very well could end up setting the record against Kentucky or Mississippi State, who the Vols face at Neyland Stadium on November 2 and 9, respectively. Sampson hasn’t had to cede as many carries this season as one might have thought with the way that Heupel often likes to rotate his backs. DeSean Bishop is a distant second with 48 carries, and Peyton Lewis and Khalifa Keith are tied for third with 17 carries each.
In other words, this is Sampson’s show, and it should continue to be throughout the rest of the season. When it’s done, he’ll almost certainly have made a name for himself in Tennessee football history.