Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson was voted SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.
Last week, Sampson was voted the overall SEC Player of the Year by the USA TODAY Sports Network. On Wednesday, he won AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous All-SEC first-team selection.
Sampson is the 13th player in Vols history to win an SEC Player of the Year award for offense, defense, special teams or overall. Quarterback Hendon Hooker was the 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year.
The SEC superlative awards, as voted on by coaches, were announced on Wednesday. Sampson already made the Coaches All-SEC first team at two positions, running back and all-purpose, which was announced Tuesday.
Sampson, a junior, will lead the Vols into the College Football Playoff. Tennessee (10-2) plays Ohio State (10-2) on Dec. 21 (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) in Columbus, Ohio, in a first-round game.
Dylan Sampson broke Tennessee records, chasing others
Sampson led the SEC in rushing and scoring. He was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, given to the best running back in college football.
Sampson has rushed for 1,485 yards, breaking the UT single-season record previously held by Travis Stephens (1,464 yards in 2001). Sampson’s 256 rushing attempts trails Stephens’s 291 carries in 2001 for another single-season UT record.
Sampson has scored 22 TDs, all on the ground. That broke UT single-season records for total TDs (21) and rushing TDs (18), both set by College Football Hall of Fame member Gene McEver in 1929.
Sampson has 10 100-yard rushing games this season, the second most in a single season in UT history. He needs one more to tie Jay Graham’s record of 11 100-yard games in 1995.
Sampson is chasing McEver’s UT record for career rushing TDs heading into the CFP. He has 35 rushing TDs in three seasons while McEver scored 37 from 1928-31.
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