After Tennessee Football lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, running back Dylan Sampson hinted that the Vols were “lackadaisical” during their bye week. on Monday, however, Keenan Pili disagreed. He also said the offense had a chance to win it at the end and all but implied they didn’t get it done.
De’Rail Sims came up behind Sampson on Tuesday, though, and implied that Sampson was putting the blame on himself with that quote. However, considering the fact that he was the one bright spot, rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, that doesn’t make sense at all.
If you dive deep into what they’re saying, Sampson and Pili are actually calling out the same group of people. Sampson is just more specific with it. In general, though, they are both upset with the way Tennessee Football played against the Hogs.
For Pili, it’s the offense as a whole. That’s certainly understandable. He probably transferred to the Vols expecting to help the defense hold up its end while the offense got it done, but it’s not likely he wanted to carry the entire burden the way they have been doing.
Sure, they gave up a touchdown late, but after playing great all game, they just needed the highly-touted Josh Heupel offense and $8 million quarterback to bail them out one time. That they didn’t had to be frustrating, and that could have even led to Omari Thomas taking his anger out on a fan afterward.
On the other side, though, Sampson is narrowing who to blame. You can’t blame him give his production. The interior line also did its job. He also protected Nico Iamaleava, saying they weren’t going to let the young quarterback “beat himself up,” calling it a learning experience and saying he’ll be fine.
That seems to suggest Iamaleava’s problem was just developing, so Sampson isn’t blaming him. Enter the receivers, tight ends and offensive tackles. Some combination of those groups, or maybe one or all of them, is where Sampson is really directing his ire.
Let’s be honest, it’s probably the tackles. Lance Heard and John Campbell Jr. should lose their scholarships with how awful they played against the ends. They were the worst two players for Tennessee Football by far on Saturday.
On the other hand, the tight ends didn’t give much help, in particular Miles Kitselman. There was miscommunication with the receivers, but all of them got hurt at one point or another, so they get a break. It’s safe to say Sampson was calling the tight ends and line “lackadaisical.”
You can see that even more if you plug in the film and notice all the times Sampson, who we lambasted in the offseason for struggling in pass protection, picked up pressure after the tackles got beat. Simply put, he was picking up the slack from the tight ends and tackles.
As a result, Pili and Sampson need to talk. There may be friction in the Tennessee Football locker room if they don’t. What’s clear, though, is that they agree on blaming the offense. Sampson needs to make clear it’s certain members of the offense, though, and those guys have to be called out.
