'If the time is right, I'm going to Tennessee, I'll meet him one day' - Dylan Sampson waited until the right time to meet his hero

Former Tennessee Vols running back Dylan Sampson is from Baton Rouge, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he grew up rooting for the New Orleans Saints.

It also shouldn't be a surprise that Saints running back Alvin Kamara, a former Tennessee standout, was one of Sampson's favorite players. 

Sampson, who was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, had a chance to meet Kamara in an airport several years ago, but he passed on the opportunity. 

During an appearance on the Best Podcast Available, Sampson told Andrew Siciliano that Kamara seemed to be '"minding his own business", and added that if the time was right, he’d meet the New Orleans running back someday.

"I just looked looked up to him," said Sampson when asked about Kamara. "I followed his story since when he was at Alabama. And just the things he went through going from JuCo to Tennessee, and especially when he got to the league, he happened to go to my favorite team at the time. And just watching him, seeing a player that I could find some similarities in, it was very motivational for me. I never like to look up to too many big running backs, because it's not my play style. But I saw traits in his game that I knew for sure I could emulate.

"And, you know, it was crazy. I saw him in the airport, but I didn't speak to him because he looked like he was just minding his business. I was committed to Tennessee already, but I just was like, man, I'm gonna let him be. And you know, if the time is right, I'm going to Tennessee, I'll meet him one day. And it happened. I got a chance to spend, like, a week with him, pick his brain. He came to a couple of games over this [past] year, came to [the] Bama [game] this past year. It's just cool seeing things come full circle."