Josh Heupel sounds confident Tennessee will have its top back when Kentucky comes to Knoxville.
DeSean Bishop, the Volunteers’ star running back, left last week’s game at South Carolina with a right ankle injury, and that sent a jolt through a Tennessee offense that has leaned heavily on him all season. But Heupel gave a reassuring update this week, saying Bishop should be ready to go next week.
“We feel like he will be in a good spot for next week,” Heupel said this week. “He got some work today.
We limited him some today. Part of that was the ankle, but part of that was just the volume he’s gotten in the early part of conference play, too.”
Heupel didn’t stop there. “He’s got a chance to heal up this week, and we’re going to need him at his best as we go down the stretch.”
That matters because Tennessee’s offense has not looked like the machine people got used to in previous years. In SEC play, the Vols are No. 11 in scoring and No. 13 in plays over 20 yards, and they’ve topped 24 points only once.
Bishop has been the bright spot. The junior is coming off a 1,000-yard season and already has 957 yards through eight games, which puts him No. 2 in the country in rushing yards. He’s also found the end zone 11 times, doing it while handling the second-most carries in the country.
Tennessee has already made a change at quarterback, but the formula around Bishop has stayed the same. The Vols have needed someone under center who can get him the ball, because right now that’s the engine of the offense.
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For Kentucky, the immediate effect is simple: more than 30 athletes in the lawsuit can remain on the field while the dispute unfolds. The NCAAs next move goes to a three-judge panel seeking interlocutory relief, with responses due by November 6, so the question hanging over Afari is not whether he is cleared right now, but how long that status holds as the litigation continues. [Read more 🡒]