Vols Add Commitment of Speedy RB Dylan Sampson
Dylan Sampson came to Knoxville looking for the right answers to see if Tennessee was the place to call home, and he found they during his weekend official visit as the Dutchtown (La.) prospect committed to the Vols and running back coach Jerry Mack during the visit. The news was first reported by Ryan Callahan of 247 Sports.
It has been good," Sampson said about his growing relationship with Vols Running Back Coach Jerry Mack earlier this week. "When they got in there, not much later, he contacted me after they re-evaluated me, and I was re-offered by the new staff. Since then, we have been in constant contact. He will FaceTime me or send me a message, so we have been building on that relationship, and I feel like it is pretty good."
"I have been in contact with Coach Heupel a good bit," Sampson added. "He might text me or shoot me a call to see how things are going. As far as the Tennessee coaching staff in general, I talked with them when they were at UCF, so I already had a little relationship with them."
The thing that stands out about the Tennessee staff? Transparency.
"It really seems when they speak, it feels real," he said. "They don't really sugar coat anything. They are telling me about the situation they are in with what happened with the last coaching staff. They are keeping it real and being honest with me about everything that is going on. I just feel like that is true, and I hope I am going to get to experience that on the visit."
During the visit, Sampson wanted to just make sure things felt right at Tennessee, and the Vols checked off the boxes for him.
"One, it is just feeling a sense of the coaching staff," he said about what he is looking for. "Just feeling the energy around them is something I really want to do. Just trying to feel if it is genuine or not because you can tell. Then, feeling the energy in the locker room, getting around the players, and I want to ask the right questions and see if it is really. And getting to feel where I can fit in this offense is going to be important. Then just learning all about the program. It is all going to be good this weekend. I am excited."
Sampson becomes the sixth commitment in the 2022 recruiting class for the Vols.
What is it he brings to the table? Speed, speed, and more speed.
For one, speed always comes first," Sampson said about what coaches like about his game. "That is what people notice about me first. Most coaches have noticed that I play calm and that I have a good balance to do well once I get into the secondary. All are things I can improve on, but I believe those are my strengths. Even though I am not the biggest running back, I feel like I have a lot of power in my legs, so it is not as easy to bring me down. I feel like those are my strengths and what coaching staffs have told me over my recruitment."