Things just weren't meant to be for the Tennessee football team against Ohio State in the first round of the CFP. Ohio State dominated that contest, sending the Vols home in pretty disappointing fashion. What hurt Tennessee in this one was that Dylan Sampson was nowhere to be seen for the majority of the night.
Sampson posted only two carries for six yards, going down with a hamstring injury early on in the action. Everyone was left wondering why he wasn't on the field, but then ESPN finally revealed he indeed was dealing with a hamstring issue. He tried to tough things out, but the pain was too much.
This week, Sampson is in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, hoping he can raise his stock a bit and prove to NFL teams that they shouldn't wait long to select him. At the same time, Sampson also reflected on his career with reporters, bringing up how devastated he was to get injured vs. the Buckeyes:
"It was hard not being able to play for my team."
— Josh Ward (@Josh_Ward) February 28, 2025
VFL Dylan Sampson explained why he was so limited during Tennessee's playoff game at Ohio State.
🎥 via @jwyattsports
🎙️ Q&A w/ @pbrown247 pic.twitter.com/S86yRWvrYK
Dylan Sampson did everything he could to be healthy for the Ohio State game
As you can tell from Sampson's body language, he was pretty down in the dumps for not being able to make a difference. Sampson also revealed that he originally got hurt in the win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
That injury lingered and he wasn't able to fight through things against the Buckeyes. Ohio State went on to win the National Championship, which softens the blow a bit. Sampson was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, but you know he wanted to do some damage in the CFP.
The superstar running back has nothing to hang his head about, though, as he was a record-setting standout for the Vols. Fans will always have a ton of love for what he was able to get done with his team over his fantastic career too.