Tennessee’s running back room will have a lot of new faces getting reps this season, but there is one stable option leading the charge.
DeSean Bishop returns to Tennessee for his senior season after working his way up from a walk-on to the Vols’ likely first option. Standing at 215 pounds and having clocked a blistering top speed of 21.6 mph during camp, Bishop feels more explosive than ever as he embraces his new role as a veteran mentor.
“I’m just trying to help those guys be better every day, just learn from my mistakes in the past, and just try to help them be the best version of themselves they can be every day,” Bishop said.
While Bishop anchors the room, the competition behind him remains a wide-open race. Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims noted that everyone in the building looks to Bishop as the guy taking the bull by the horns.
Behind Bishop are Daune Morris and Justin Baker, who are back for their sophomore seasons, and Javin Gordon joins the fold after rushing for 516 yards at Tulane as a freshman.
“When you have real competition in your position room, it’s the best friend you have as a coach,” head coach Josh Heupel said after a recent scrimmage. “They feel the urgency of taking advantage of every rep and every single day. And that room collectively as a group is playing really good football right now.”
The coaching staff is keeping a close eye on all four running backs. Sims noted that the “eye in the sky” catches everything, and sometimes what a player does away from the ball is just as important as his production with it.
For Bishop, that means sharpening his craft in pass protection and expanding his role as a weapon in the passing game.
Sims wants his unit to perform with greater consistency than last year, emphasizing that small details will dictate playing time.
“You grade every single rep, every single practice, including the walkthroughs,” Sims emphasized. “The MAs [missed assignments] always stand out to the guys that are making the least mistakes. The guys that are making plays without the ball in their hands, they’re doing a really good job from that standpoint.”
Sims added that this group compares favorably to some of the top backfields he has managed at previous stops, though their ultimate ceiling will depend on day-to-day preparation and growth.
He highlighted Bishop’s blend of size and power, Morris’ versatility as a jack-of-all-trades, and Gordon’s stability and rapid learning curve.
“Now, the biggest deal is like if one guy gets in and he gets hot, you got to let him go until he gets tired,” the assistant coach said. “That’s kind of the main deal.”
The next couple of weeks will determine who establishes that momentum before the Vols kick off the season against Furman on Sept. 5.
