NASHVILLE – DeSean Bishop eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in Tennessee football’s 2025 season in the Music City Bowl, completing an exceptional climb from walk-on to star running back.
Bishop, a former Karns High standout, reached the mark in the first quarter against Illinois on a 18-yard gain on Dec. 30.
He became the 21st UT player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and the third straight under coach Josh Heupel. Dylan Sampson set the single-season UT record with 1,491 yards in 2024, and Jaylen Wright had 1,013 yards in 2023.
In his first season on scholarship, Bishop earned All-SEC second-team honors and joined the 1,000-yard club. And he was a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in college football who started his career as a walk-on.
But Bishop’s success comes as no surprise to those who witnessed his record-breaking high school career in Knoxville.
How DeSean Bishop went from walk-on to 1,000-yard rusher
Bishop was a two-time Mr. Football winner at Karns. He rushed for 8,347 yards and 102 touchdowns in his high school career. That ranked second and third, respectively, in Tennessee high school history.
But it wasn’t enough to convince Power 4 schools to offer him a scholarship. He was committed to Coastal Carolina for his entire 2022 senior season, hoping for a scholarship offer from a major conference school that never came.
College coaches questioned his skill, speed and long-term potential. He was rated a three-star recruit and the No. 36 player in the state of Tennessee by 247Sports Composite. Two weeks before signing day, he decommitted from Coastal Carolina and announced he’d enroll at Tennessee as a preferred walk-on.
Bishop said he bet on himself and came to UT with no promise of ever receiving a scholarship, but things didn’t go well early on. He took a redshirt in 2023 after suffering a preseason injury.
In 2024, Bishop outplayed scholarship players with higher recruit ratings to earn the backup spot behind Sampson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He rushed for 455 yards and three TDs, missing three games due to injury.
In January 2025, Bishop got the good news that he was going on scholarship. He beat out Duke transfer Star Thomas and sophomore Peyton Lewis for the starting job, and he never relinquished it.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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