Tennessee’s offense has made plenty of noise under Josh Heupel, but the clearest fingerprint of this era isn’t just the fireworks through the air. It’s the ground game.
Heupel made that point plain in an interview with Brooks Austin last week, stressing that the Vols’ passing success starts with what they do on the ground. “We’ve had a ton of success (throwing the ball),” Heupel said.
“Quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends. Been explosive in the pass game.
Been consistent. Had really good quarterback play.
But sometimes (people) lose the fact that the bread and butter is running the football efficiently and effectively. You look over the five years we’ve been at Tennessee, lead the league in rushing over those five years.
Two thousand yards rushing every year that we’ve been here.”
That claim lines up with the numbers. According to The Next Round on X, Tennessee has averaged 204.4 rushing yards per game over the last five seasons, the best mark in the SEC. Ole Miss is next at 199.9 rushing yards per game, followed by Arkansas at 197.3.
At the other end of the conference, Vanderbilt sits at 139.4 rushing yards per game over that stretch, with South Carolina at 128.2 and Mississippi State at 116.7.
The Vols’ production on the ground has also shown up in the individual numbers. Tennessee has put together three straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher: Jaylen Wright in 2023, Dylan Sampson in 2024, and Sampson again in 2025, when he set the program’s single-season rushing record with 1,491 yards and the single-season rushing touchdowns mark with 22.
There’s more coming behind that wave, too. Tennessee returns former walk-on running back DeSean Bishop this season after he also ran for more than 1,000 yards last year. And looking further ahead, the Vols will eventually add elite five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, who is set to make his true freshman debut in 2027.
For a program built to punish defenses on the ground, the setup in Knoxville looks as strong as ever.
In Other News...
How Nico Iamaleavas New Reality Is Being Viewed Nationally
Nico Iamaleavas move from Tennessee to UCLA already made him one of the more closely watched quarterbacks in the sport, and his first season in Los Angeles gave the Bruins enough reason to keep building around him. He arrives in 2026 with a new head coach in Bob Chesney and a national perception that still lags behind the talent profile, even after a year in which he showed he could handle the job as a former No. 2 overall recruit.
The bigger question now is how much the Bruins can close that gap in a Big Ten race that does not appear eager to give them much benefit of the doubt. UCLA was slotted 13th in the conference preseason media poll, which says plenty about the skepticism around the program and the pressure on Iamaleava to turn promise into something sturdier. For Tennessee fans still tracking the quarterback they once built around, the next chapter is less about the transfer itself and more about whether the version of Iamaleava they saw in Knoxville can finally become the one that changes a teams standing. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Gave Nate Ament The Farewell Vols Fans Needed
Nate Aments lone season at Tennessee ended with the kind of production and postseason impact that made him impossible to forget. The freshman forward averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while playing through injury, and he became a key piece in another deep March run as the Vols reached the Elite Eight.
Tennessee Athletics has now given fans a fitting final look at that season with a 14-minute feature that includes interviews with Ament, Rick Barnes and assistant coaches. For a player who carried so much of the load while hurting late in the year, it serves as a reminder of how quickly he mattered in Knoxville, and how much of his story still feels tied to what came next. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Barnes Gave Tennessee Freshman A Welcome To College Moment
Marquis Clark did not need long to find out what Tennessee basketball asks of freshmen in the summer. The Vols guard described his first real "welcome to college" moment as a conditioning lesson under Rick Barnes, one that came in the middle of practice and left no doubt about the standard in the program. For a young player trying to earn his place, it was the kind of introduction that can sting in the moment but also makes the point clear: nothing is handed out in Knoxville.
Clark said he appreciates being coached hard, and that fits the way Barnes has built Tennessee into a program that develops players for the next level. The Vols have had a steady presence in NBA Summer League and have produced draft picks year after year, which gives the grind a bigger purpose for freshmen learning what it takes. For Clark, the challenge was immediate, and the message was even clearer. [Read more 🡒]