Vols OC Joey Halzle confirms Tennessee's approach at key position for the 2024 season

There's been plenty of talk this offseason about how the Tennessee Vols will handle the running back position in 2024.

With Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small off to the NFL, it leaves junior Dylan Sampson as the only running back on Tennessee's roster with significant experience.

Sampson has an elite skill set and he could prove to be one of the top running backs in the nation this fall. But behind him, there's a serious lack of experience.

Last season, the Vols deployed a three-headed monster at running back. Wright led the team with 137 carries while Sampson was second with 106 carries and Small was third with 95 carries.

Ahead of the 2024 season, there's been plenty of speculation about whether or not Tennessee will use that same approach with a less-experienced running back room.

And based on what Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle had to say on Thursday, it sounds like the plan is to once again utilize a running back rotation that features at least three players.

"We love to play three or four," said Halzle. "Even last year with Jaylen Wright leading the conference in rushing, three guys played and they played a lot. Dylan obviously is our seasoned guy that has the most reps in what he is as a weapon, we’ve all seen. But the guys, Cam (Seldon), Peyton (Lewis), Khalifa (Keith), DeSean (Bishop), like all those guys, they’ve looked really good in spring, they’ve looked really good in fall camp, and they’ve earned their chance to go show what they can do on the field. So we’ll rotate guys through and then just like in any ball game, if somebody gets hot, you got to ride the hot hand and let them go.”

The goal will be to keep Tennessee's stable of talent at the running back position fresh for an entire season (which the Vols are hoping lasts deep into January). So while it's clear that Sampson is the lead running back in Tennessee's offense, the Vols are going to be smart about his workload. If he's hot and it's a big game, Sampson might receive more carries than he otherwise would. But outside of that scenario, Tennessee will use a running back by committee approach to make sure everyone is available at the end of the season.

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