Tennessee football RB leaves Ohio State game in CFP

On By Littum

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson was sidelined with an apparent hamstring injury for most of the first half against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

Sampson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, rushed twice for 6 yards in the first quarter and did not return until midway through the third quarter.

At halftime, a UT spokesman said Sampson was listed as questionable with a lower-body injury. He jogged on the sideline in the third quarter and then returned on the ensuing drive.

ESPN reported that Sampson had issues with his hamstring. He was on the stationary bike stretching on the Tennessee sideline in the first half as backups DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis took his place in the lineup.

Tennessee fell behind 21-0 to Ohio State after Sampson left the game. But most of that damage was done before he was sidelined.

Sampson led the SEC in rushing yards (1,485), touchdowns (22), points scored (132) and yards from scrimmage (1,630) during the regular season.

He broke the UT single-season rushing record previously held by Travis Stephens (1,464 yards in 2001). Entering the Ohio State game, Sampson had 256 rushing attempts, trailing Stephens’ 291 carries in 2001 for another single-season UT record.

Sampson has already broken the UT single-season records for total TDs and rushing TDs, both set by College Football Hall of Fame member Gene McEver in 1929.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. E-mail [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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