Everything De'Rail Sims Said Ahead of Tennessee vs. Arkansas

Tennessee is fresh off yet another great rushing performance, as the Vols defeated the Auburn Tigers. They will now prepare to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, but first, running back coach De'Rail Sims spoke with the media.

Here is what he had to say.

De'Rail Sims on Yards After Contact

Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop (18) runs the ball during a game between Tennessee and Kennesaw State at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Sept. 19, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“That’s the number one deal that we look at when we come in the film room on Monday is, how many yards did we get after contact? How many yards did we end up generating after contact on our own, that type deal? So it’s always the first point of emphasis. I think sometimes you get looking at the total amount of yards that we rush for. But man, really, how many yards did we rush for after contact? I think that tells the whole story,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on the Coaching Point for Yards After Contact

“The mentality. The mentality that one guy’s not gonna bring me down, that it takes all 11 to tackle me. I think that’s the number one deal that the whole entire room has, is that mentality. And DeSean showed that on Saturday. The tackles that he had to break, they end up going to get plus two, plus three yards. So I think the mentality that they got inside of them, that’s always a big factor,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on DeSean Bishop's Performance vs. Auburn

“Well, the number one deal that I liked is he was attacking every single time he touched the football. Like he had a couple times that it could have been a negative play, that he ended up getting zero and not a negative one. Or it could have been a negative play, and he ended up popping for 17 yards. So he did a really good job from that standpoint. And you saw him get in his groove as the game went along. I looked at him on the sideline at one point in time. I said, it’s just like you back in high school again now. So he was getting in his groove. He was getting in his rhythm as he’s went along. A couple things we gotta clean up, as always. But overall, he had a really good game,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on Daune Morris Not Playing After He Fumbled

“The number one deal he learned is you gotta take care of the ball. One of Coach Heup’s biggest deals is the ball is the program. So you gotta understand that you have everybody’s dream goals and aspirations in your hand. And you’re carrying the whole entire team on your back. The biggest deal is understand, okay, the ball hit the ground. Man, I gotta respond from that, okay? I can’t go down here and feel like I’m going in the jar. Just keep responding. And I thought he did a good job on the sideline in terms of being encouraging to his teammates. He still went back out there on special teams and made plays as well. But in our room, we understand that ball comes out, man, come over here and sit with me for a little bit,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on DeSean Bishop's Work Load

“Man, the way he was running the football. And he got in his groove and he got hot and you could just see it that he was getting stronger every single carry that he got. So we kind of just roll with the hot hand on that. But at the same time too, we gotta protect the football, so,” Bishop said.

De'Rail Sims on If You Can Coach Yards After Contact

“We always preach that in the room, number one. That’s from the very beginning, we talk about the mentality that we gotta have in terms of being attackers and everything that we do. And a lot of guys already have that inside of them. Some guys have that inside of them, it’s just hidden a little bit. And it takes time for them to grow and mature, and they end up bringing it out. But the mentality piece of it, they always gotta understand they gotta be attackers. Even in pass protection as well, you gotta be attackers as well,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on Javin Gordon Through the Injury

“He’s doing a good job in terms of in the classroom, kind of attacking this deal and continue to learn and continue to grow. I think with him it’s continued to be a day-by-day deal, as we go through this deal and keep attacking it. The biggest deal with him is the mentality piece of it in terms of the mental game as we continue to keep rolling with him, has continued to get better. He’s a guy that’s extremely smart. That’s the thing that stands out to you, he’s extremely smart. So for him, he picks up very fast. But it’s always the intangible piece of it of my foot placement, my hand placement, my tracks, doing the things that we need to do. So he’s done a good job," Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on the Stack Look

“Man, I think that stack look, everybody from social media, everybody was raving about us getting in that stack look. It’s just something that we’ve been working on and decided to unveil it. Coach Heup, that’s kind of his baby too. So he did a really good job bringing that to the table. So I had to give him a shout-out on that one. But it’s something that we’ve been working on for a minute, and that was the right time to unveil that too,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on Why it Worked

“The point of attack, you look at that right side of the offensive line, the tight ends, you look at those full backs and those ace backs behind. The point of attack, they blew them off the football. And I thought Bish did a really good job of coming downhill, attacking as well. But you look at that offensive line, those tight ends, how they came off the football, and they moved the line of scrimmage. I thought that was the most impressive thing about it. That’s why it worked,” Sims said.

De'Rail Sims on 12 Personnel

Tennessee tight end DaSaahn Brame (7) walks into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium ahead of the NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Florida on November 22, 2025, in Gainesville, Florida. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“It adds a lot because it’s different gaps, it’s different ways defense gotta fit it, it’s different personnel groupings. But we’re able to do the same deal that we do out of 11 personnel pitches too. So that gives us a different capability in terms of how we’re able to go play and keep our same guys on the field,” Sims said.

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