Josh Heupel wants one thing clear: Tennessee football is not built on the idea that the pass game defines everything.
Yes, the Vols have made their name at times by stretching the field and piling up explosive plays through the air. The 2022 season, with Hendon Hooker connecting deep with Jalin Hyatt over and over, made that image stick. But Heupel says the real foundation has always been the ground game.
“A lot of people get caught up in some of the numbers that we’ve put up in the pass game, but the identity for us offensively has always been the run game,” Heupel said on The Jim Rome Show. “Return four out of the five offensive starters on the offensive line.
Experience at tight end coming back. And then you talk about DeSean, but the stable of running backs that we have right now, couldn’t be more proud of a position group here of how they’ve played during the course of training camp.
We’ve had great competition. They challenge each other in the right way, but they support each other, as well.
“DeSean, obviously, Second-Team All-Conference a year ago. Over 1,000 yards rushing.
He’s set up and poised and worked in a way to expect to have a great year. Three other guys inside of that room that we all feel great about playing on game day.
That’s with the ball in their hands and playing without the ball in their hands, as well.”
Heupel’s point is backed by the roster Tennessee is bringing into 2026. DeSean Bishop is the headliner after a big season that included 1,076 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries. Behind him, the Vols are leaning on a sophomore group that includes Tulane transfer Javin Gordon, Daune Morris and Justin Baker.
The offensive line is another major reason Tennessee feels good about its ability to run the ball. Five players with starting experience are back, and LSU transfer Ory Williams is in the mix as a possible starter, too.
Vols running backs coach De’Rail Sims sounded just as encouraged during fall camp.
“I like all those guys that we got in that offensive line room,” Sims said. “They have physicality about them.
Our first eight practices, they have done a phenomenal job. I like the new pieces that we added, as well.
You see we got some length in there. You see we got some guys that got a little bit more physicality from that standpoint.
So as a whole, they’ve done a really good job in these first eight practices. Excited about that room that we get to run behind.”
Tennessee opens the season September 5 at Neyland Stadium against Furman, and that game will give the Vols a first look at Bishop and the rest of the backs in live action.
In Other News...
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Butler joins a growing list of recent Vols to hit the same wall, alongside former Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar and tight end McCallan Castles, who were also cut by their teams. For Butler, the next step is simple but far from easy: catch on with another NFL opportunity and keep his career moving toward the 2026 season. [Read more 🡒]
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For Tennessee fans, it also fits into a broader theme that has been building for a while. Joe Milton III, Hendon Hooker and Joey Aguilar are all in the hunt for backup jobs around the league, giving the program a steady stream of quarterbacks with real NFL relevance. Dobbs is now in position to back up Jared Goff, and it is another reminder that the Vols quarterback pipeline keeps reaching the league in meaningful ways. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees New Defensive Front Has A Camp Name Fans Need To Know
Jim Knowles is putting his stamp on Tennessee football quickly, and part of that has been building a new look along the defensive front with transfer tackle Xavier Gilliam right in the middle of it. Gilliam followed Knowles from Penn State and has already drawn strong reviews throughout spring and fall camp, with coaches and teammates noticing both his play and the way he carries himself as the Vols shape their identity for the coming season.
For Tennessee, that matters because Knowles is arriving with fresh expectations and a roster in transition, and the defensive front will be one of the clearest indicators of how fast the new system takes hold. Gilliams emergence has added some early momentum to that process, and the attention he has earned suggests there may be more to this front than just a schematic change as camp gives way to game prep. [Read more 🡒]