By Missy Grimes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference office announced Wednesday afternoon that Tennessee junior running back Dylan Sampson was selected by the league’s head coaches as the 2024 SEC Offensive Player of the Year. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native received the same recognition from the Associated Press, becoming the second Vol in three years to sweep the awards as selected by the coaches and the AP.
Sampson becomes the sixth running back in conference history to be named the coaches’ SEC Offensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 2003. He joins Darren McFadden (2006-07), Trent Richardson (2011), Tre Mason (2013), Derrick Henry (2015) and Kerryon Johnson (2017) as the only running backs to receive the honor.
During the Josh Heupel era (2021-present), Tennessee has garnered three player of the year honors from the league’s head coaches. In addition to Sampson, Velus Jones Jr. was recognized as the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2021 while Hendon Hooker was selected as the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. Hooker was also tabbed the AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts during the 2022 campaign.
Sampson produced the most prolific rushing campaign in Tennessee history during the 2024 regular season, breaking school records for rushing yards (1,485), rushing touchdowns (22), points scored (132), total touchdowns scored (22) and consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (11). Sampson led the conference in 11 different categories, including 123.8 rushing yards per game and 22 rushing touchdowns — tied for the fifth-most rushing scores in SEC single-season history.
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