It’s was pretty obvious when the subject of pass protection came up that Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson wasn’t real keen on the direction of the interview. After all, he’s heard for an entire off-season about a faulty aspect of the Vols’ game that might not even be his fault. So, does that rile him up?
“Little bit,” Sampson said with a smile on Wednesday as the Vols opened preseason camp with a media opportunity. “You let it get to you enough where it motivates me, but at the end of the day, people are going to talk, they’re going to speak. I try not to look at it. My coaches know what I do.”
And, according to Sampson, his pass protection has been just fine despite some moments caught on television in which it looked like he might have been the reason Tennessee’s quarterback took a hit that would make Neyland Stadium tremble.
“I actually saw a lot of improvement in my pass protections,” Sampson said, referring to last season. “A lot of people don’t see what goes in and what goes out, who actually is my guy that I need to block…If you go back and look at the film, there was no real busts on me in pass protections, but it may look like my job, but we all play as one team. If the quarterback is touched, that’s on all of us.”
And that can’t happen this season with rising superstar Nico Iamaleava ready to take the helm as a redshirt freshman. Sampson, who has gained 10 pounds, and is currently 6-foot and 211 pounds, said this offseason has only made him better when it comes to helping keep a clean pocket.
“The steps that I’m going to take in pass protection, because it’s easy just to sit back when you don’t know what’s going on and (say) ‘Somebody messed up,’” Sampson said. “We’ll show you all again this year that we’re going to do a great job of protecting Nico and keeping him up so he can throw the ball all over the field.”
In fairness to Sampson, he has a point. The Vols allowed 1.85 sacks per game last season, which was good for fourth in the SEC. However, Sampson wasn’t the full-time tailback as he’s slated to be this season.
Other than pass protection, Sampson offered another tidbit that could foreshadow his role this season The junior has said he’s focusing more on route running than ever before. Could he become a bigger part of the passing game?
“Being able to use me in different aspects of the game,” Sampson said.
That sounds great. Sampson is a versatile athlete – just as long as he can pass block.
