KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11 Tennessee football running back DeSean Bishop has been the workhorse for the Vols’ offense this season. He’s accumulated 837 yards and 10 touchdowns on 139 carries. With all that has come with the evolution on that side of the ball, the run game has been the constant to complement the sturdy defense that has made life difficult for the opposition.
On Tuesday, running backs coach De’Rail Sims talked about Bishop’s tendency to put on more steam as the game goes on. The opposition tends to wear down and grow tired of hitting Bishop later in the second half. While 30-plus carries is something he has been accustomed to since his days at Karns High School, there may be times when it’s good to spell him for a drive.
“You always pay attention to body language,” Sims said. “Does he look fatigued, that type deal? We always got dialogue on the sideline. How you feeling in between the drives.”
Asking Bishop is only part of the evaluation, because the answer never changes. Sims leans on years of familiarity with his back to read what Bishop won’t say out loud.
“I’ve been around him long enough to understand when his juice is high and when his juice is low,” Sims said. “When I feel like he’s getting fatigued a little bit, you’re taking this drive off, you’re taking this series off, so that now we get you back here stronger.”
Early on in the season, that was more of the case. Daune Morris presented that change of pace one-two punch, and had big games against Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State, running for 214 yards and two touchdowns across those two games on 24 carries. Since then, Morris has seen time but hasn’t found those home run hitting runs that we saw in early September.
Sims isn’t worried about it. Morris’ contributions have shifted to more of the details, and one of them showed up in the most important moment of last week’s win.
“He was able to go pass pro and run behind his pads in a critical situation on that drive to go win the game,” Sims said. “His mindset is so good right now. He’s in a really good place and he’s grown a lot, knock on wood.”
The room also got Javin Gordon back Saturday after he missed three weeks with an injury. Sims called him a physical downhill runner with reliable hands, a product of his days playing receiver in high school.
As for Bishop, the carries are piling up on a different frame than the one he brought to Knoxville. Sims jokes with him when they watch film from 2024 about how much he has added.
“You were a little skinny dude in ‘24,” Sims said. “As the game goes along, they get tired of hitting you because you’ve got that extra armor on now, and you’re able to run with it and still be explosive.”
That armor will be tested Saturday. The Gamecocks head into the matchup with the Southeastern Conference’s third-best rushing defense, allowing just 103.7 yards a game, 25th in the nation. Meanwhile, Tennessee has the SEC’s second-best rushing offense at 217.1 yards a contest, which is also good for 19th in the nation.
“They want to get all 11 hats to the football,” Sims said. “So they swarm it really good.”
