You’ve heard about practice players. There are also gamers. Where do scrimmage players fall in that? At this point, Tennessee Football running back DeSean Bishop is creating that new lane for players who stand out above all others in those practice settings.
On the heels’ of the Vols second scrimmage of fall camp, Josh Heupel specifically mentioned Bishop again as a standout. Sure, Bishop was also mentioned with Peyton Lewis, the freshman running back, and both are seeing reps with Dylan Sampson and Cameron Seldon held out.
However, Heupel typically says very little, and after two scrimmages in a row, he touted the Tennessee Football running back. He also said that there was nothing glaringly different between the scrimmages when it came to Bishop’s play.
“I think he’s got great command, comfort in what we’re doing,” Heupel said of the back. “He continues to get better in playing without the ball. His pass protection, we’re really confident in him in that. So he’s just continuing to take steps every day to continue to get better.”
This came just after UT running backs coach De’Rail Sims also went out of his way to praise Bishop. On the heels of Wednesday’s practice, Bishop called the redshirt freshman a “throwback” player who embraces contact, high praise for a 5’10” 200-pound back. He also touted Bishop’s practice habits.
“When he goes into, whether in scrimmages or practice situations, everybody trusts him because he knows what to do and then he goes and operates at a high level,” Sims said. “That’s kind of gaining the trust of the coaches and also his teammates, as well.”
So all of this begs one question: Was the walk-on running back a steal for the Vols? Look, UT has an elite all-purpose. back in Sampson and now a power back in Khalifa Keith. Lewis is supposed to be the star feature back as the incoming four-star, especially given questions about Seldon’s health and vision.
Nobody thought Bishop could fit his way into that. However, the local prospect who graduated from Karns High School is making more waves in fall camp than anybody thought. Is this desperation from Heupel and Joey Halzle? Could the offense just not be where it needs to be at running back?
That could be true. However, it could also be true that Bishop, as a local kid, is willing to run extra hard for a university he grew up loving. Either way, this isn’t a fluke anymore. The Tennessee Football running back is standing out in scrimmages, and that might translate to games.
