Dylan Sampson joins an unfortunate trend among certain Tennessee Vols players with latest news

Since the tweet left off the names of the finalists, I'll give them to you: UNC's Omarion Hampton, Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, and Iowa's Kaleb Johnson.  

Sampson's omission is absolutely baffling.  He's totaled 1307 yards on 207 carries for 22 touchdowns, the latter of which established a program record and matched the fifth most in SEC history.  As the Tennessee football Twitter/X account noted on Tuesday, Sampson leads the SEC in a slew of statistical categories. 

The Vols' veteran runner has carried Tennessee on his back for much of the season to a 9-2 mark and on the doorstep of the college football playoff.  With Jeanty in the conversation as well, no other running back has meant more to his team in the country this year than Sampson. 

The problem with awards like this is that you sometimes get local beat writers who get to vote and snub more deserving players for guys they know.  A case in point, this Texas Tech writer voted Sampson ninth (!!) while voting Red Raiders RB Tahj Brooks second.  

By comparison, Brooks has 1317 yards on 263 carries (32 more attempts than Sampson) with 14 touchdowns (8 less than Sampson). 

Tennessee fans by now are used to seeing their players get passed over for awards, particularly when it comes to the biggest one in college football.  Peyton Manning's Heisman snub still irks any Vol fan who's older than 35 years old to this day.  Older Vol fans will remember just how badly it was when Johnny Majors lost out on the 1956 Heisman Trophy to Paul Hornung - quarterback of a 2-8 Notre Dame team with far inferior stats (917 yards passing with 3 touchdowns and 13 interceptions). 

And, of course, more recently, Hendon Hooker didn't even get an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony despite very much deserving it even after suffering an ACL tear in the second-to-last game of the regular season against South Carolina in 2022. Jalin Hyatt was an exception that year, earning the Biletnikoff Trophy as the nation's most outstanding receiver with a dominant season.  

The award is likely Jeanty's to lose.  However, there's no doubt that Walker deserved to be named as a finalist and attend the award ceremony.  Of course, if you ask just about any Tennessee fan, they won't be surprised.  That's just how it typically seems to go for UT players most of the time.