KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Walter Camp Football Foundation announced Monday that Tennessee senior running back DeSean Bishop was one of 50 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.
Bishop, a preseason All-SEC selection by multiple outlets and a watch list candidate for the Maxwell Award, is one of nine running backs on the Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list.
A Knoxville native and former walk-on, Bishop enters the 2026 season as one of the SEC’s premier running backs after earning second-team All-SEC honors in his first season as Tennessee’s starter in 2025. The Karns High School product is the Vols’ first returning 1,000-yard rusher since Jalen Hurd in 2016.
Bishop rushed for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns on 182 carries while starting all 13 games in 2025. He added 15 receptions for 135 yards and finished with a team-best 1,211 all-purpose yards, averaging 93.2 per game.
His 16 rushing touchdowns tied for second in the SEC and ranked sixth nationally while tying for the fourth-most rushing scores in a single season in Tennessee history. Bishop ranked fourth in the SEC in rushing yards, fifth in rushing yards per game (82.8) and fourth in yards per carry (5.9).
The physical runner eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark three times and totaled 649 rushing yards after contact during his breakout campaign.
In 23 career games, Bishop has rushed for 1,531 yards and 19 touchdowns on 256 carries, averaging 6.0 yards per attempt. He has also recorded four career 100-yard rushing performances.
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding player. The 2026 Player of Year watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in early November, and three finalists will be announced in early December.
The 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 138 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced in the second week of December.
