Tennessee’s tailbacks weren’t a problem in the loss to Arkansas. In fact, the Vols’ running backs were quite impressive in Tennessee’s loss to the Razorbacks. Still, everyone must regroup.
“They’ve been in the right frame of mind,” Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims said of his group bouncing back during his press conference on Tuesday. “They came out yesterday, did a phenomenal job in the meetings, came out today and did a really good job of practicing. So, it’s been really good from the mindset standpoint and the energy and the sense of urgency too.”
There had better be a sense of urgency. Tennessee hosts Florida on Saturday then No. 7 Alabama on Oct. 19. If the Vols haven’t put the loss to the Razorbacks behind them, Tennessee’s 4-1 record could turn into 4-3 quickly. Sure, the Vols are 14 1/2-point favorites over the Gators, but Florida has won six of the last seven games between the two schools and 17 of the last 19 against the Vols.
Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson was one of the few bright spots for the Vols’ offense against Arkansas. The junior ran for 140 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns. He also caught one pass for 11 yards.
Sampson wasn’t done making news after the Arkansas game when he said the Vols were “lackadaisical” in their preparation for the Razorbacks, which led to Tennessee’s offense being “antsy” and “frantic” in the games’ final moments, in which the Vols fell short 19-14 to the Razorbacks.
Sims probably wasn’t too fond of those sentiments even if they needed to be said. Linebacker Keenan Pili took exception to Sampson’s comments when he was asked about them after the game. Sims tried to play damage control.
“I think Dylan does a really good job of just leading, you know what I’m saying?” Sims said. “And he’s always going to do a really good job of making sure that he’s hard on himself. I think that’s the No. 1 deal. So anytime he speaks on things, I think he’s looking at himself No. 1 and making sure he’s doing everything that he can do because he wants to lead by his actions, you know what I’m saying?”
Not exactly. Is Sims implying that Sampson wasn’t referring to the Vols’ offense leading up to the Arkansas game, that he was just talking about himself? That’s a hard sell considering he played well and several other Tennessee offensive players struggled.
“He takes it upon himself to be the leader of this team and continue to push and drive,” Sims said. “From that standpoint, I think he’s always looking at himself internally, always trying to figure out ways that he can continue to improve and continue to get better as well.”
That may be true. However, it seemed as if Sampson was trying to get his teammates to improve along with him. If the Vols are going to beat the Gators, that had better be the case.
