Dylan Sampson, Squirrel White Fights Injuries Vs. Ohio State

Dylan Sampson and Squirrel White are both battling injuries Saturday night, leaving Tennessee without some key offensive contributors against Ohio State.

Coming into the College Football Playoff game, the Vols were expected to use a heavy dose of Sampson on the ground against the Buckeyes. One of the best running backs in Tennessee history, Sampson captured the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year with a tremendous performance for the Vols.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t had that much of an impact, and that’s because he’s struggling with a leg injury in the match. He hasn’t seen the field outside of 2 early carries for 6 yards.

According to ESPN’s Marty Smith, the issue appears to be left hamstring tightness for Sampson. Smith reported that Sampson has regularly tried to loosen his hamstring on the sidelines but has yet to re-enter the game.

At halftime, UT coach Josh Heupel was asked if Sampson was struggling with anything serious at halftime and dodged the question.

“Nah, there’s a lot of football left here,” Heupel said. “We have 30 minutes left. Let’s play.”

Meanwhile, White had a 17-yard catch early but was injured on that play. He was later caught by broadcast cameras walking to the dressing room, but with a heavy limp and dealing with what is believed to be an ankle injury.

The injury to Sampson is the biggest issue for the Vols, but both are significant. Sampson led the SEC in rushing with 1,485 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground this season. White is the team’s 3rd leading receiver with 364 yards this season while also recording 2 touchdown catches.

Without Sampson available, it puts more pressure on quarterback Nico Iamaleava to lead the offense. The QB is just 7-for-16 for 81 yards in the first half, but has 36 rushing yards and a touchdown.

We’ll see how Iamaleava and the offense adjust moving forward, but the Vols have rebounded to make it 21-10 before halftime.

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.