Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-9vs Furman | 14 | 97 | 6.9 | 1 | 20 | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-24@ Georgia Tech | 20 | 147 | 7.4 | 2 | 33 | Season-high 147 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 42-9vs Kennesaw State | 9 | 42 | 4.7 | 1 | 10 | |
| Total | 43 | 286 | 6.3 | 4 | 33 |
#18
DeSean Bishop
Junior running back for Tennessee. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
5′10″ · 215 lb · Knoxville, TN · Karns
CFB Index 84 · #12 of 326 RBsHigh confidence
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Hits the crease and outruns the angle.
EPA / carry: 92nd percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
286
rushing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 147 rush yds, 2 TD, 15 rec yds, at Georgia Tech
Swing playSwung Tennessee from 48% to 72% to win.New Mexico State at Tennessee · 42-9
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior running back for Tennessee. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Tennessee in 2023.
- Vols linebacker Arion Carter suspended (Jul 31) Reported
Aura™ · Him Watch
Underrated
-25aura tax
Fans rank this player in the 74th percentile of RBs; the tape says
99th pctl our rushing-value metric (wEPA) RBs · 140 qualified, n=54
— the tape outruns the hype.Aura — fan perception74th pctl
Production — on-field99th pctl
n=54 mentions · cohort: RBs · 140 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = our rushing-value metric (wEPA)
Buzz vs Tape
Country hotter than the fans
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 40.7 points in belief.
29.3own fans
70national conversation
Tennessee Volunteers score the perfect slot for SEC Media Days, setting the stage for maximum buzz around Josh Heupel's squad. With quarterbacks George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon, a revamped defense under Jim Knowles, and stars like…
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
194 windows · 2026 fan posts
desean×725.4tennessee×42.3running×9.4back×5.9top×7.0
“Tennessee bounces back with a top 20 defense, and DeSean Bishop leads the SEC in rushing”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
DeSean Bishop
Hits the crease and outruns the angle. This is his third year in the same backfield at Tennessee. His first career honor landed in 2025: All-SEC. The receipt on tape: 147 rush yds, 15 rec yds against Georgia Tech, Week 2, 2026.
286 RUSH YDS · 4 RUSH TD · 43 CARRIES
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2023
- Signed with Tennessee3-star out of Karns
202513 games
- All-SECsecond
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Tennessee
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-SEC · 2ND TEAM
All-SEC 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Tennessee
Played his entire career under Josh Heupel.
Career stats
Game log
Game by game
DeSean Bishop's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 56–9
vs Furman
97 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 47-point win at home against Furman.
With F. Brandon — 226 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 68 rush yds (10 car) · 2 TD · M. Matthews — 4 rec · 132 yds · 2 TD
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 2 · Georgia Tech · 3&1 · Q4 · EPA +3.09(04:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 29 yards gain to the GT 00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:25, 1ST DOWN #28 C.Ranvier kick attempt good (H: #98 J.Ross, LS: #48 B.Brady)
- Week 2 · Georgia Tech · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.58(11:45) No Huddle-Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 17 yards gain to the GT 00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:41, 1ST DOWN #28 C.Ranvier kick attempt good (H: #98 J.Ross, LS: #48 B.Brady)
- Week 2 · Georgia Tech · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +2.24(13:40) Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 33 yards gain to the GT 30 (#3 J.Mbakwe), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Furman · 2&1 · Q2 · EPA +1.90(03:06) No Huddle #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 1 yard gain to the FUR00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:05 PENALTY FUR Illegal Substitution declined #28 C.Ranvier kick attempt good (H: #98 J.Ross, LS: #48 B.Brady)
- Week 2 · Georgia Tech · 2&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.84(09:17) No Huddle-Shotgun #11 F.Brandon pass complete short left to #18 D.Bishop caught at UT 25, for 15 yards to the UT 37 (#2 E.Lightsey), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Furman · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.54(01:41) No Huddle-Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 20 yards gain to the TENN38 (#6 J.Tarver), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Furman · 4&1 · Q2 · EPA +1.50(04:21) Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 2 yards gain to the FUR32 (#93 D.Baldwin; #94 C.Bussey), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Furman · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -1.48(09:36) No Huddle-Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 6 yards gain to the TENN38 fumbled by #18 D.Bishop at TENN38 forced by #95 J.Stoneking recovered by FUR #19 R.Earl at TENN38, End Of Play. TENN is challenging the ruling on the field - "Fumble". CALL UPHELD
- Week 3 · Kennesaw State · 1&3 · Q1 · EPA +1.46(11:35) No Huddle-Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 3 yards gain to the KSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:32 #28 C.Ranvier kick attempt good (H: #98 J.Ross, LS: #48 B.Brady)
- Week 1 · Furman · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +1.43(12:42) No Huddle-Shotgun #18 D.Bishop rush middle for 18 yards gain to the TENN38 (#9 E.Lipscomb), 1ST DOWN
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +42 rushing yards, +1 rushing TD, +1 catch.
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Josh Heupel — 21-8 over that span.
2024Tennessee10-3HC: Josh Heupel · Run-heavy
2025Tennessee8-5HC: Josh Heupel · Balanced
2026Tennessee3-0HC: Josh Heupel · Run-heavy
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: epa / carry (92nd percentile). Strength: explosive rate (92nd percentile). Concern: receptions (13th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (8)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / carry
85th → 92nd percentile
Success rate
91st → 85th percentile
Explosive rate
94th → 92nd percentile
Yards / carry
81st → 86th percentile
TD rate
72nd → 91st percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
40 of 43 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
52%40 carriesFumble rate
2.3%1 of 43 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer yds15%of carries
6 carries
Grind
1–3 yds22%of carries
9 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds38%of carries
15 carries
Explosive
10+ yds25%of carries
10 carries
3 of 3 (100%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go)
6.7 yds/carry on 43 carries · 25% explosive (10+ yds) · 52% success rate.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 69.5 | 5.8 | 1.0 |
| Road1g | 147 | 7.4 | 2.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 95.3 | 6.3 | 1.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Josh Heupel
Pass share
35.9%
74 pass / 132 run
Plays / game
68.7
3 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
80 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #3 of 37 SEC RBs
How the All-SEC estimate is computed
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
How he plays
Play style
Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.
CFB Index positional classification
Starter
The No. 1,315 recruit in the country is carrying the ball in the SEC as a junior.
DNA match
Player DNA
Speed Merchant
Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.
RB
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Barry Sanders’s 2015 season.
86%match
NFL Rd 1 · Pk 3
Matches Barry on
Height
Yards / carry
Rush TD rate
Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Journey Wyche’s path through Chattanooga.
Journey Wyche
95%match
Matches Journey on
Yards per carry
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Jadarian Price's junior season at Notre Dame (2025).
78%match
NFL Rd 1 · Pk 32
Matches Jadarian on
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Weight
Height
Differs from Jadarian on
Recruiting rating (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like DeSean Bishop
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #68
Peaked at #68 this season.
Background
CAREER HONORS 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch List 2026 Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List 2026 Preseason All-SEC Second Team (Athlon) 2026 Preseason All-SEC Third Team (Coaches | Media | Phil Steele) 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 2025 Burlsworth Trophy Semifinalist 2025…
The backfield · Tennessee
- #18DeSean Bishop1,076 rushing yards · 2025
- #6Javin Gordon516 rushing yards · 2025
- #17Daune Morris133 rushing yards · 2025
- #2Justin Baker43 rushing yards · 2025
- #24Hunter Barnes2 rushing yards · 2025
1 more on the roster · Tennessee team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology