What Tennessee Vols running back Dylan Sampson has been able to get done this season has been out of this world. Sampson has set multiple UT records, being a big reason why the Vols are 10-2 on the campaign and heading to the College Football Playoff.
On Tuesday, Sampson took home First-Team All-Sec honors, which was great to see, though people are still ticked off Jermod McCoy was snubbed of that recognition. Well, even more good news has come in for Sampson, as he was just named the AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year. Boom!
#Vols junior RB Dylan Sampson named SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the AP.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) December 11, 2024
Vols RB Dylan Sampson has been named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year
This fall, Sampson indeed was playing out of this world, rushing for 1,485 yards and 22 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. There were fumbling issues, which caused Josh Heupel to bench him for some action, but Sampson flushed those mistakes and was able to post an unreal year.
Oh, but he's not done just yet. Sampson and the Vols are getting ready to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the CFP and they've got an upset on their minds. Some experts are trying to claim the Vols are going to struggle in Ohio's cold December weather, but give us a break - nothing to worry about there.
In order for Tennessee to post an upset win, the team will obviously need to get Sampson involved early and often. That will help set up some play-action deep bombs for QB Nico Iamaleava. Yeah, fans can't wait for that one.
As for Sampson, the individual awards are nice, but the fact that he wasn't a finalist for the Doak Walker Award continues to be a joke. For now, he'll enjoy this SEC Offensive Player of the Year honor and he'll also use it as motivation to ball out once again against the Buckeyes.