Tennessee football coaches may decide that redshirt sophomore DeSean Bishop will get the first carry of the 2025 season, and he would be deserving as the program’s top returning rusher.
Or the Volunteers could turn to their Greek god.
Both Peyton Lewis and Bishop proved to be capable backups last season for Dylan Sampson, who set Tennessee’s single-season rushing record with 1,491 yards, earned the Southeastern Conference’s offensive player of the year honor and is now a member of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Lewis played in all 13 contests during his freshman season, rushing 64 times for 339 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and three touchdowns.
“We challenged Peyton to just grow, and he’s changed his body,” Tennessee second-year running backs coach De’Rail Sims said this week during a news conference. “He looks like a Greek god when he walks out there on the field. We wanted Peyton to be like he was in high school in terms of running behind his pads and running through the trash that was being created up front. He’s done a really good job from that standpoint.
“His eyes and his feet match now in the run game and in the pass-protection game as well. You can see the maturation process.”