DeSean Bishop signs new NIL deal for Tennessee football in 2026

4 days ago 1

Tennessee football running back DeSean Bishop signed a new NIL deal to secure him on the Vols 2026 roster, Knox News confirmed.

Bishop's return may have seemed like a foregone conclusion. There was no indication that the former Karns High standout had considered entering the transfer portal, but he would've been a coveted player on the open market.

And in the portal era, retaining talented players is as important as adding them. Tennessee is still in the market for a running back because there are only three projected for the 2026 roster: Bishop, Daune Morris and Justin Baker.

Bishop was a 2025 All-SEC performer and 1,000-yard rusher, completing an exceptional climb from walk-on to star running back. As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,076 yards and 16 TDs, tied for the fourth most in UT history. And he had 15 receptions for 135 yards.

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.

How DeSean Bishop went from walk-on to All-SEC

In his first season on scholarship, Bishop was one of the SEC's top running backs. 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.

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 de-committed from Coastal Carolina and enrolled at Tennessee in 2023 as a preferred walk-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. Now he has landed an NIL deal to continue to lead the Vols backfield.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: DeSean Bishop signs new NIL deal for Tennessee football in 2026

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