Tennessee football signed seven offseason transfers and 22 freshmen enrollees for the upcoming season. We’ve already touched on the top 25 most important returning players from last year’s team, now let’s touch on who among these new additions could make an immediate impact for the Big Orange come fall.
Coming in at No. 14 is freshman running back Dylan Sampson.
Old Ways
Dutchtown High School in Louisiana is going to have to replace a lot in Vols signee Dylan Sampson.
Sampson replaced former NFL running back Eddie Lacy in the history books for Dutchtown, rushing for the most yards across a career, racking up 4, 927 yards on 521 total carries. For those counting at home, that’s 9.4 yards per carry.
Sampson’s senior season was particularly impressive. He garnered 1,673 all-purpose yards, with 22 total touchdowns.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound scat back was rated as a high three-star prospect by most outlets, ranking as a 4-star by On3 Sports. He was considered to be the No. 21 player from the state of Louisiana and joins Justin Williams-Thomas in Tennessee’s RB room for the Class of 2023. The Vols won Sampson over Michigan State, South Carolina, Louisville and Vanderbilt. In total, Sampson collected 28 scholarship offers.
New Beginnings
Sampson is an intriguing prospect for Tennessee. His speed fits in perfectly with Josh Heupel and Alex Golesh’s offensive design, perhaps supported by his track background. Sampson is powerful, but not a guy you’d go to in a 3rd and short situation.
That raises a question about his blocking skills, too, which is why it’s hard to see him winning reps over Williams-Thomas in 2022. A better fit for Sampson early in his Tennessee football career would be on special teams.
The Vols lose their top kick returner from last season in Velus Jones, who was signed by the Chicago Bears after being selected in the third round of the NFL Draft. Though Jimmy Holiday and fellow freshman Squirrel White are projected to do the heavy lifting in this department, don’t be surprised to see Sampson play a role at some point in the season.
Moving forward, Sampson’s speed is just going to be too much for Golesh to ignore. He ran a 10.48 100-meter in high school which is elite even in the SEC. If he can build add some pounds – he’s already up 10 pounds from high school – his versatility could make him a dangerous weapon for seasons to come.
Still, Sampson will be hard-pressed to see 10+ snaps a game with Jabari Small, Jaylen Wright and Len’Neth Whitehead in the rotation.
