Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson entered his junior season having already proven to be a home run hitter who could create explosive plays. But through the first month of the season, Sampson has proved to be one of the most complete and best running backs in the country.
Many have taken notice of Sampson across the country including Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman.
“He’s bad. He’s bad to the bone,” Pittman said of Sampson. “He’s a good player. He’s really good to make you to miss, to run over you. He’s a good player to make a catch. I like him a lot. He’s a really good player. … He breaks a lot of tackles.”
Sampson ranks fourth in the SEC with 449 rushing yards so far this season and the three players ahead of him all have played five games this season while Sampson has played just four games.
Despite playing just one less game so far this season, Sampson’s 10 rushing touchdowns led the SEC. His 6.5 yards per carry rank fifth in the SEC with a minimum 30 carry requirement. Only Ole Miss’ Henry Parrish is averaging more yards per carry while having more carries than Sampson this season.
More From RTI: Tennessee Transfer Report — How the Former Volunteers Contributed in Week 5
That’s where Sampson has grown steadily. In a strong sophomore season, Sampson was just one part of a talented backfield. He didn’t record an abundance of carries and wasn’t asked to shoulder a strong workload. Time will tell how Sampson holds up this season but through four games he’s been fantastic and he’s displayed serious growth as a between the tackles runner.
“I do think his off season this year, continuing to add size and strength to his frame has allowed him to handle a situation a little bit different than his freshman year would’ve played out,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said earlier this week. “But he’s got great trust in the guys in front of him. We have great trust in him.”
Tennessee’s matchup against Arkansas includes two of the best running backs in the SEC. Arkansas’ senior Ja’Quinden Jackson leads the SEC with 509 rushing yards and is second only to Sampson with nine rushing touchdowns.
Kickoff between Vols and the Razorbacks at D.W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Chris Fowler, Kirk Hebrstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for ABC.
