It seems as if Tennessee football fans have forgotten about losing Dylan Sampson, their running back from last year who set the school record for yards and touchdowns in a single season. Given everything else the Vols have been dealing with in the offseason, that’s understandable.

Nico Iamaleava’s transfer, the ACL tear to UT’s best NFL Draft prospect this year in Jermod McCoy, all new wide receivers the loss of the Vols’ best NFL Draft prospect from last year in James Pearce Jr. and four new starters on the offensive line are enough to think about. UT doesn’t have much more news for concern.

However, Sampson should be higher up. Maybe it’s because DeSean Bishop is returning after performing well last year as a backup. It could be due to the excitement behind Duke Blue Devils transfer Star Thomas. Perhaps the expectations surrounding sophomore Peyton Lewis, who had a ton of recruiting hype, has Tennessee football fans at ease.

All of those players come with questions, though, as does the position overall.

The Doak Walker Preseason Watch List for 2025 seems to be just as confused. Bishop and Thomas are on there, but Lewis, the one with the most expectations coming out of high school, is not. For the Vols to have two players on there who could both be backups this year is wild.

Sure, if you’re going by production, Bishop and Thomas have more experience. Last year, Bishop had 74 carries for 455 yards, averaging over six yards a carry, and three touchdowns. Thomas has been a three-year starter, two with the New Mexico State Aggies and then last year at Duke, where he rushed for 810 yards and scored eight total touchdowns.

Lewis wasn’t far behind Bishop last year, though, carrying the ball 64 times for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Also, don’t forget that Bishop is a walk-on and had trouble in pass protection simply due to his lack of size at times last year. He would seem to have physical limitations.

Thomas, meanwhile, averaged fewer than four and a half yards a carry with Duke, his first season in Power Four play, and he is averaging below five yards a carry for his career. Lost on that, though, is the fact that Thomas averaged fewer than four and a half yards a carry.

Imagine two candidates for the Doak Walker Award in the preseason being a former walk-on and one who has failed to average five yards a carry for his career, and both being on the same team selected over a four-star back. Such is the situation for Tennessee football.

Now, perhaps this concern is just roped into the four new offensive linemen, as UT lost all three starting interior linemen, a key to their run-game success last year. Also, Bishop did put on weight this offseason and is up to 5’10” 208 pounds. That combined with more experience from Thomas could be what put them on here.

Still, Lewis is supposed to be a weapon from the 2024 recruiting class in the same tier as Mike Matthews and Boo Carter. They were the bedrock for Tennessee football going forward. If he’s unable to live up to that promise, Josh Heupel may have a bigger problem on his hands than we realize.