DeSean Bishop doesn’t have much left to prove about whether he can produce in the SEC.
That hasn’t removed the chip from his shoulder.
Bishop enters his junior season after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns last year. Yet Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims sees a player approaching this season as if he still has something to prove.
“He wants to be the best,” Sims said. “You look at a local kid that came here that started out as a walk-on, that has earned every single thing that he’s gotten. That drives him.”
It is part of why expectations surrounding Bishop are even higher entering 2026.
Sims said Bishop and Tennessee identified areas of his game that needed improvement after last season. Rather than being satisfied with his production, Bishop spent the offseason attacking them.
“I think he has a lot that he wants to prove,” Sims said. “I think he has a lot of goals that he wants to go after.”
That approach has produced growth Tennessee believes will show up on Saturdays.
Bishop enters the season stronger and more prepared for the physical demands that come with carrying the football in the SEC. But Sims has also watched him grow into a different role within Tennessee’s running back room.
“I think now he understands that he’s the leader of the room and the room is going to go as he goes,” Sims said.
That responsibility comes with a talented group behind him.
Tennessee has options in Javin Gordon, Daune Morris and Justin Baker, creating competition for carries and giving the Vols more flexibility in how they manage the position.
For Bishop, the competition has provided another reason to keep pushing.
“When you got a mindset like DeSean does, not a lot of things are going to hold you back and stop you,” Sims said.
Bishop’s production established what Tennessee already has in its backfield.
Now Sims wants to see what another offseason of development looks like when the Vols take the field.
And after watching Bishop throughout preseason camp, he’s eager to find out.
“I can’t wait to watch him play,” Sims said.
