University of Tennessee Athletics
Competition Fueling Running Back Room as Season Opener Nears
August 19, 2026 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Of the many deep and talented position groups on Tennessee's 2026 squad, the competition level might be the greatest within the running back room as the Volunteers move closer to their season opener against Furman on Sept. 5 at Neyland Stadium.
Led by 2025 All-SEC selection and retuning 1,000-yard rusher DeSean Bishop, UT could potentially have its deepest room of running backs in the Josh Heupel era, and the competition within the group has been at an all time high throughout the offseason and preseason camp.
"It's been good. Those guys are feeding off of each other right now," third year running backs coach De'Rail Sims said following Wednesday's practice. "Everybody looks at DeSean as the guy that's in a leadership role, the guy that's kind of taking the bull by the horns, but at the same time, all of them are sitting up here competing hard in terms of they're not letting him relax. It's a coach's dream when you have a whole entire room that's competing from top to bottom."
Bishop is the Vols' first returning 1,000-yard rusher since Jalen Hurd in 2016 after rushing for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries while starting all 13 games in 2025. His 16 rushing touchdowns were tied for second in the SEC and ranked sixth nationally while also tying for the fourth-most in a single season in Tennessee history.
Pushing Bishop in the backfield this season are a trio of sophomores in Tulane transfer Javin Gordon as well as returners Daune Morris and Justin Baker, who both will look to earn increased roles after getting their feet wet as freshmen a year ago.
The entire room has benefitted greatly from Derek Owings' offseason strength and conditioning program, gaining speed and muscle mass to help them withstand the rigors of a long season in the SEC.
"I think when you look at it overall, their bodies have changed in a good way," Sims said. "The core strength is a lot stronger right now. The physicality piece has been really good because you see them be able to use their core as they go to finish off runs, finish off blocks.
"I think the straining and effort piece from mental toughness standpoints, something that we talk about all the time, has been good because they've been challenged. They've been pushed in the summer. They've been pushed throughout January, so they've done a good job from that standpoint. So, hats off to DO (Derek Owings) in terms of the work that he's done, not just with the running backs, but with the whole entire team."
Video and the full transcript of Sims' Wednesday press conference can be found below.
"It's been good. Those guys are feeding off of each other right now. Everybody looks at (DeSean Bishop) as the guy that's in a leadership role, the guy that's kind of taking the bull by the horns, but at the same time, all of them are sitting up here competing hard in terms of, they're not letting him relax. They're letting him know that, 'Hey, we're on your heels too, and we're going to push you to go as elite as you can be as well.' So, it's been good. It's a coach's dream when you have a whole entire room that's competing from top to bottom."
On managing a room where multiple players can contribute…
"The best thing that happens is that the eye in the sky doesn't lie. So, you sit up here, and you grade every single rep, every single practice, including the walk-throughs. The (missed assignments) always stand out to the guys who are making the least mistakes. The guys who are making plays without the ball in their hands, they're doing a really good job from that standpoint. So, as you sit up here and you have a deep competition, the guys that continue to stand out in terms of less (missed assignments), the guys that are making plays without the ball in their hands, and also the guys that when they are in there, how is the offense moving when you are in there? Is it still staying the same, or is it going to another level? I think that piece of it shows itself, because there's no grey area from that standpoint. It's just true black and white from a competition standpoint after that."
On how the team rushed the ball last season…
"I think that we were up and down at times last year, with certain games that we were doing really well, and then there were certain games that we were just average. I think the biggest deal is that you always go back and look at yourself inward. I went back and looked at myself in terms of what can I do to coach better? What can I do to put them in a better situation to go out there and succeed? Then you kind of look at this thing holistically, too. From a totality standpoint, what things can we do schematically to give us some advantages, and I think we've done that. We've answered those questions. Then you look at the personnel that you have, like you have Bish (DeSean Bishop) coming back. You have Justin Baker, Daune Morris, that are a year in. You add a JG (Javin Gordon) to the equation, who played a ton of football last year. I think you look at that from a personnel standpoint, and you feel really good."
On the impact that strength and conditioning has on physical and mental growth…
"I think when you look at it overall, their bodies have changed in a good way. The core strength is a lot stronger right now. The physicality piece has been really good because you see them be able to use their core as they go to finish off runs, finish off blocks. I think the straining and effort piece from mental toughness standpoints, something that we talk about all the time, has been good because they've been challenged. They've been pushed in the summer. They've been pushed throughout January, so they've done a good job from that standpoint. So, hats off to DO (Derek Owings) in terms of the work that he's done, not just with the running backs, but with the whole entire team."
On what Javin Gordon has brought to the room and how he has made a difference…
"I think when you sit here and look at him, he's a guy that's extremely smart. He learns fast. He's a hard worker. He doesn't get rattled by anything. He's a guy that wants to go out here and be his best. But he's a really good person. When you sit up here and you look at it, the whole entire room is really good in terms of people. But, his mentality in terms of how he goes about pushing the whole entire room and then also being a listening ear for them as well. He and Bishop (DeSean Bishop) are connected at the hip, and the whole entire room is as well. But JG (Javin Gordon) has brought a different mentality in terms of he didn't come in here with any preconceived notions. He's coming here with his head down, and he's just going to work."
On what DeSean Bishop adding muscle over the offseason will do for him…
"I think it's just body armor in terms of what you're getting ready to go against week in and week out in this league, which he's experienced the last two years. But now he's just added more mass in terms of now he's stronger. Now he's faster. Now, when he's going in there, and it's a short yardage situation, you see the power move at a different level now. But I also think it gives you confidence as well. When you line up, and you look out there, and you look at yourself in the mirror, the more muscle that you added, the more definition that you have. It's confidence in yourself as well. So I think holistically, it's been a really good thing for him."
On what traits he likes about Daune Morris…
"When you sit up here and look at (Daune Morris), he's a jack of all trades. He's a guy that in high school, he played out wide, he played in the backfield, he played wildcat quarterback. He has really good vision. He has really good spatial awareness as well in the passing game. In the run game, he does a really good job now leveling his pads off. His acceleration has always been there, but now you're seeing him play behind his pads. You're seeing him go pad plus-two on runs that may be muddy. He's a guy that you can move around, and he's kind of the joker aspect for you in the offense."
On how live tackling at practice helps the offense…
"It helps us because we need the tackle work as well, especially from a running back standpoint. You have to feel guys coming on and trying to tackle you. You have to feel that from a pass protection standpoint as well, because it's a trained habit. So now, when I get in the game, and I understand I have to go pad plus-two, I've done that in live situations. I think that's a big benefit and a big help on both sides of the ball. Because it's iron sharpening iron, because now you get the offenses pushing ahead, you goy the defenses pushing ahead. So now, you're getting the best of both worlds."
On finding the sweet spot of rotating running backs and keeping DeSean Bishop in a rhythm…
"I think the biggest deal is early in the season, you're trying to keep guys fresh, and you're trying to see what you have in the room, especially last year. That was a totally different animal. You had three guys in the room that hadn't really played a ton when you were replacing (Dylan Sampson). And then what you end up learning is that Bish (DeSean Bishop) gets in a rhythm and gets hot. The more and more he's carrying the football, the more and more he's in the game. And then you understand how the other pieces play in the works as well. So, the biggest deal was letting him get a chance to get in rhythm, get hot, and then you kind of intermingle the other guys in. Now, the biggest deal is if one guy gets in and he gets hot, you have to let the hot guy go until he gets tired. That's the main deal. But you understand, the rhythm they get into as the game flows and goes along. And then sometimes if it's not hitting the way you want it to, you have to allow that guy to calm himself down and sit on the sideline to see the game from a sideline view. And then when he gets back out there, now this is a different speed for him. They get an understanding of what the defense is doing."
On if he sees DeSean Bishop being a more durable running back…
"I think honestly, it's just an evolution in terms of him as a player. In terms of taking that next step, and the maturity aspect of it, too. When you sit up here, and you look at it from a mass standpoint, in terms of where do you want your body to be, but also not putting on a ton of weight to where you're not able to move. So that's been a good thing for him. He's put on functional movement weight to where he's explosive. He can still do the things that he can do. But also, like we talked about earlier, building that body up from an armor standpoint to withstand, being able to play as many games as we have to play this season."
On takeaways from his time at Carson-Newman that he has now brought to Tennessee…
"I feel like if I never went to Carson-Newman, I probably wouldn't be standing here today. I feel like that jump-started my career in a positive direction. Being able to go coach for a legend in Ken Sparks, who taught you not only about football, but also how to develop a total student-athlete from the inside-out. He always had this saying, 'How's your heart?' Making sure that positive things always flow from your heart, because if you have greed, if you have envy, if you have negative things inside of you, that's always going to come out of your mouth. So being able to speak positivity into your players, pouring into them and also into your coaches as well, was big. And the whole entire building, the men that I was around during that time period, like, they are still pouring into me to this day. Mike Clowney is one of my best friends that was the defensive coordinator at the time and became the head coach of Carson-Newman for a couple of seasons. Like, those guys mean a lot to me. You know, I got to learn how to coach and do it the right way under some really good coaches that may not have made it to this level, but they were big time. The fondest memory I have is Coach Sparks winning his 300th game that night on Thursday night, against Glenville State, and you know, them hanging the banner up. That was an awesome memory from my time there."
On different ways the running backs can help affect the game and take pressure off the quarterback…
"The biggest thing is to just do our job. That's the number one thing from a pass protection standpoint, from when we're involved in the passing game as well, and then when we're running the football. If we do our job, everything else will take care of itself. We talk about it all the time. We have to be efficient as runners. When we are called on to run the football, if a player gets blocked up for four (yards), we have to do a really good job of going to get six. If it's a negative play and the pressures leaking into the backfield on a run, we have to do a really good job of getting us back to the line of scrimmage, or getting us one yard ahead of the line of scrimmage. And, making sure we're doing a really good job in protection. That's the number one thing, controlling the depth of the pocket for the quarterbacks is critical to where there's no leakage in his eyes, and he's doing a really good job of being able to step up and throw."
On if this year's group is more ideal than groups he's had in the past…
"It's on par with some groups that I've had in the past, at some previous spots. I think you kind of go into it every year with a blank slate, and you don't look at it as, 'These are the guys that we got returning, but let's just keep it status quo and keep rolling along.' How can we go get better? How can we enhance them? We always start this thing off with a blank slate every single season. I have them tell me the two things that they want to improve on every block as we go along in practice. We'll match those up with the things that I see from them in terms of what we need to improve. That way, we're holistically putting this improvement plan together, and it's not just me standing in the front of the room and saying, 'We have to do this, this and this.' Now, we're all tied in together. The improvements that they see we need to make, plus what I see we need to make, and then now we're pushing forward in the same direction. It's a good problem to have when you have a room that's as deep and as competitive as they are, because they know there is no such thing as an off-day. There is no such thing as an off-play, because if I don't make this play, the next guy's coming in and he's probably going to make that play. I think that's the thing you saw in the scrimmage on Saturday. When one guy had a big play, the next guy came in and had a big play, and it was a lot of back and forth as a whole entire group."
On reaction to DeSean Bishop's body transformation and how much work was put into that…
"When you sit up here and look at him, you're like, 'That's just D-Bish,' because he's a hard worker. To be honest with you, he just attacks. If you give him something to do and a plan in terms of how to go improve it, he's going to do that. He's a living testament in terms of when you follow the plan from A all the way through, that's what ends up happening. The transformation has happened. The process and the product that you put on the field happened. He's a total, holistic, really good person and total, holistic, really good player that we're going to continue to keep enhancing and maximizing his game to his full potential."
Led by 2025 All-SEC selection and retuning 1,000-yard rusher DeSean Bishop, UT could potentially have its deepest room of running backs in the Josh Heupel era, and the competition within the group has been at an all time high throughout the offseason and preseason camp.
"It's been good. Those guys are feeding off of each other right now," third year running backs coach De'Rail Sims said following Wednesday's practice. "Everybody looks at DeSean as the guy that's in a leadership role, the guy that's kind of taking the bull by the horns, but at the same time, all of them are sitting up here competing hard in terms of they're not letting him relax. It's a coach's dream when you have a whole entire room that's competing from top to bottom."
Bishop is the Vols' first returning 1,000-yard rusher since Jalen Hurd in 2016 after rushing for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries while starting all 13 games in 2025. His 16 rushing touchdowns were tied for second in the SEC and ranked sixth nationally while also tying for the fourth-most in a single season in Tennessee history.
Pushing Bishop in the backfield this season are a trio of sophomores in Tulane transfer Javin Gordon as well as returners Daune Morris and Justin Baker, who both will look to earn increased roles after getting their feet wet as freshmen a year ago.
The entire room has benefitted greatly from Derek Owings' offseason strength and conditioning program, gaining speed and muscle mass to help them withstand the rigors of a long season in the SEC.
"I think when you look at it overall, their bodies have changed in a good way," Sims said. "The core strength is a lot stronger right now. The physicality piece has been really good because you see them be able to use their core as they go to finish off runs, finish off blocks.
"I think the straining and effort piece from mental toughness standpoints, something that we talk about all the time, has been good because they've been challenged. They've been pushed in the summer. They've been pushed throughout January, so they've done a good job from that standpoint. So, hats off to DO (Derek Owings) in terms of the work that he's done, not just with the running backs, but with the whole entire team."
Video and the full transcript of Sims' Wednesday press conference can be found below.
Running Backs Coach De'Rail Sims (8.19.26)
On the competitive nature of the running back room…"It's been good. Those guys are feeding off of each other right now. Everybody looks at (DeSean Bishop) as the guy that's in a leadership role, the guy that's kind of taking the bull by the horns, but at the same time, all of them are sitting up here competing hard in terms of, they're not letting him relax. They're letting him know that, 'Hey, we're on your heels too, and we're going to push you to go as elite as you can be as well.' So, it's been good. It's a coach's dream when you have a whole entire room that's competing from top to bottom."
On managing a room where multiple players can contribute…
"The best thing that happens is that the eye in the sky doesn't lie. So, you sit up here, and you grade every single rep, every single practice, including the walk-throughs. The (missed assignments) always stand out to the guys who are making the least mistakes. The guys who are making plays without the ball in their hands, they're doing a really good job from that standpoint. So, as you sit up here and you have a deep competition, the guys that continue to stand out in terms of less (missed assignments), the guys that are making plays without the ball in their hands, and also the guys that when they are in there, how is the offense moving when you are in there? Is it still staying the same, or is it going to another level? I think that piece of it shows itself, because there's no grey area from that standpoint. It's just true black and white from a competition standpoint after that."
On how the team rushed the ball last season…
"I think that we were up and down at times last year, with certain games that we were doing really well, and then there were certain games that we were just average. I think the biggest deal is that you always go back and look at yourself inward. I went back and looked at myself in terms of what can I do to coach better? What can I do to put them in a better situation to go out there and succeed? Then you kind of look at this thing holistically, too. From a totality standpoint, what things can we do schematically to give us some advantages, and I think we've done that. We've answered those questions. Then you look at the personnel that you have, like you have Bish (DeSean Bishop) coming back. You have Justin Baker, Daune Morris, that are a year in. You add a JG (Javin Gordon) to the equation, who played a ton of football last year. I think you look at that from a personnel standpoint, and you feel really good."
On the impact that strength and conditioning has on physical and mental growth…
"I think when you look at it overall, their bodies have changed in a good way. The core strength is a lot stronger right now. The physicality piece has been really good because you see them be able to use their core as they go to finish off runs, finish off blocks. I think the straining and effort piece from mental toughness standpoints, something that we talk about all the time, has been good because they've been challenged. They've been pushed in the summer. They've been pushed throughout January, so they've done a good job from that standpoint. So, hats off to DO (Derek Owings) in terms of the work that he's done, not just with the running backs, but with the whole entire team."
On what Javin Gordon has brought to the room and how he has made a difference…
"I think when you sit here and look at him, he's a guy that's extremely smart. He learns fast. He's a hard worker. He doesn't get rattled by anything. He's a guy that wants to go out here and be his best. But he's a really good person. When you sit up here and you look at it, the whole entire room is really good in terms of people. But, his mentality in terms of how he goes about pushing the whole entire room and then also being a listening ear for them as well. He and Bishop (DeSean Bishop) are connected at the hip, and the whole entire room is as well. But JG (Javin Gordon) has brought a different mentality in terms of he didn't come in here with any preconceived notions. He's coming here with his head down, and he's just going to work."
On what DeSean Bishop adding muscle over the offseason will do for him…
"I think it's just body armor in terms of what you're getting ready to go against week in and week out in this league, which he's experienced the last two years. But now he's just added more mass in terms of now he's stronger. Now he's faster. Now, when he's going in there, and it's a short yardage situation, you see the power move at a different level now. But I also think it gives you confidence as well. When you line up, and you look out there, and you look at yourself in the mirror, the more muscle that you added, the more definition that you have. It's confidence in yourself as well. So I think holistically, it's been a really good thing for him."
On what traits he likes about Daune Morris…
"When you sit up here and look at (Daune Morris), he's a jack of all trades. He's a guy that in high school, he played out wide, he played in the backfield, he played wildcat quarterback. He has really good vision. He has really good spatial awareness as well in the passing game. In the run game, he does a really good job now leveling his pads off. His acceleration has always been there, but now you're seeing him play behind his pads. You're seeing him go pad plus-two on runs that may be muddy. He's a guy that you can move around, and he's kind of the joker aspect for you in the offense."
On how live tackling at practice helps the offense…
"It helps us because we need the tackle work as well, especially from a running back standpoint. You have to feel guys coming on and trying to tackle you. You have to feel that from a pass protection standpoint as well, because it's a trained habit. So now, when I get in the game, and I understand I have to go pad plus-two, I've done that in live situations. I think that's a big benefit and a big help on both sides of the ball. Because it's iron sharpening iron, because now you get the offenses pushing ahead, you goy the defenses pushing ahead. So now, you're getting the best of both worlds."
On finding the sweet spot of rotating running backs and keeping DeSean Bishop in a rhythm…
"I think the biggest deal is early in the season, you're trying to keep guys fresh, and you're trying to see what you have in the room, especially last year. That was a totally different animal. You had three guys in the room that hadn't really played a ton when you were replacing (Dylan Sampson). And then what you end up learning is that Bish (DeSean Bishop) gets in a rhythm and gets hot. The more and more he's carrying the football, the more and more he's in the game. And then you understand how the other pieces play in the works as well. So, the biggest deal was letting him get a chance to get in rhythm, get hot, and then you kind of intermingle the other guys in. Now, the biggest deal is if one guy gets in and he gets hot, you have to let the hot guy go until he gets tired. That's the main deal. But you understand, the rhythm they get into as the game flows and goes along. And then sometimes if it's not hitting the way you want it to, you have to allow that guy to calm himself down and sit on the sideline to see the game from a sideline view. And then when he gets back out there, now this is a different speed for him. They get an understanding of what the defense is doing."
On if he sees DeSean Bishop being a more durable running back…
"I think honestly, it's just an evolution in terms of him as a player. In terms of taking that next step, and the maturity aspect of it, too. When you sit up here, and you look at it from a mass standpoint, in terms of where do you want your body to be, but also not putting on a ton of weight to where you're not able to move. So that's been a good thing for him. He's put on functional movement weight to where he's explosive. He can still do the things that he can do. But also, like we talked about earlier, building that body up from an armor standpoint to withstand, being able to play as many games as we have to play this season."
On takeaways from his time at Carson-Newman that he has now brought to Tennessee…
"I feel like if I never went to Carson-Newman, I probably wouldn't be standing here today. I feel like that jump-started my career in a positive direction. Being able to go coach for a legend in Ken Sparks, who taught you not only about football, but also how to develop a total student-athlete from the inside-out. He always had this saying, 'How's your heart?' Making sure that positive things always flow from your heart, because if you have greed, if you have envy, if you have negative things inside of you, that's always going to come out of your mouth. So being able to speak positivity into your players, pouring into them and also into your coaches as well, was big. And the whole entire building, the men that I was around during that time period, like, they are still pouring into me to this day. Mike Clowney is one of my best friends that was the defensive coordinator at the time and became the head coach of Carson-Newman for a couple of seasons. Like, those guys mean a lot to me. You know, I got to learn how to coach and do it the right way under some really good coaches that may not have made it to this level, but they were big time. The fondest memory I have is Coach Sparks winning his 300th game that night on Thursday night, against Glenville State, and you know, them hanging the banner up. That was an awesome memory from my time there."
On different ways the running backs can help affect the game and take pressure off the quarterback…
"The biggest thing is to just do our job. That's the number one thing from a pass protection standpoint, from when we're involved in the passing game as well, and then when we're running the football. If we do our job, everything else will take care of itself. We talk about it all the time. We have to be efficient as runners. When we are called on to run the football, if a player gets blocked up for four (yards), we have to do a really good job of going to get six. If it's a negative play and the pressures leaking into the backfield on a run, we have to do a really good job of getting us back to the line of scrimmage, or getting us one yard ahead of the line of scrimmage. And, making sure we're doing a really good job in protection. That's the number one thing, controlling the depth of the pocket for the quarterbacks is critical to where there's no leakage in his eyes, and he's doing a really good job of being able to step up and throw."
On if this year's group is more ideal than groups he's had in the past…
"It's on par with some groups that I've had in the past, at some previous spots. I think you kind of go into it every year with a blank slate, and you don't look at it as, 'These are the guys that we got returning, but let's just keep it status quo and keep rolling along.' How can we go get better? How can we enhance them? We always start this thing off with a blank slate every single season. I have them tell me the two things that they want to improve on every block as we go along in practice. We'll match those up with the things that I see from them in terms of what we need to improve. That way, we're holistically putting this improvement plan together, and it's not just me standing in the front of the room and saying, 'We have to do this, this and this.' Now, we're all tied in together. The improvements that they see we need to make, plus what I see we need to make, and then now we're pushing forward in the same direction. It's a good problem to have when you have a room that's as deep and as competitive as they are, because they know there is no such thing as an off-day. There is no such thing as an off-play, because if I don't make this play, the next guy's coming in and he's probably going to make that play. I think that's the thing you saw in the scrimmage on Saturday. When one guy had a big play, the next guy came in and had a big play, and it was a lot of back and forth as a whole entire group."
On reaction to DeSean Bishop's body transformation and how much work was put into that…
"When you sit up here and look at him, you're like, 'That's just D-Bish,' because he's a hard worker. To be honest with you, he just attacks. If you give him something to do and a plan in terms of how to go improve it, he's going to do that. He's a living testament in terms of when you follow the plan from A all the way through, that's what ends up happening. The transformation has happened. The process and the product that you put on the field happened. He's a total, holistic, really good person and total, holistic, really good player that we're going to continue to keep enhancing and maximizing his game to his full potential."
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, August 19
