Tennessee football makes final cut for local 2023 RB DeSean Bishop

Justin Williams-Thomas entered the transfer portal less than a month ago, but that doesn’t mean Tennessee football is without options for its future at the positions. The Vols continue to trend for a 2023 running back right in their backyard and made another cut for him this week.

DeSean Bishop, a three-star across the board, now has Rocky Top in his top two. Coming out of Karns High School in Knoxville, Tenn., Bishop stands between 5’10” and 5’11” while weighing in the range of 190 to 200 pounds.

Joining Tennessee football on Bishop’s list are the Appalachian State Mountaineers. He announced the schools and the fact that he would be committing in his his high school auditorium Wednesday on Monday afternoon.

Currently, the Vols have one commitment at running back in Khalifa Keith. However, Keith is a power back who is set to fill the void left by Len’Neth Whitehead entering the transfer portal. Princeton Fant had to fill that void this year, as there was no power back.

As a result, heading into 2023, Josh Heupel has one feature back in Jabari Small, two all-purpose backs in Dylan Sampson and Jaylen Wright and one power back in Keith. He needs at least two feature or all-purpose backs too for the proper amount of depth.

Given his current size, Bishop could probably put on enough weight to become Small’s backup as the feature back and give the Vols a future there. That is where they desperately need help, so even in a player not as highly recruited as others like Bishop, they could use the help.

Currently, there are no favorites to land Bishop still on the Rivals Future Cast or the 247Sports Crystal Ball. However, On3 has Tennessee football second behind the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, who are a majority favorite, and they didn’t make the cut. UT is a plurality favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast. As a result, the Vols may be the favorite now.