In the first half of the Tennessee Vols’ football showdown against Ohio State, almost nothing went right for Josh Heupel and his team. Ohio State took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, which no one expected.

To make matters worse for the Vols, SEC Player of the Year Dylan Sampson couldn’t do much. As of this writing, Sampson has only carried the ball six yards twice. He also missed a lot of the action. According to the ESPN broadcast, Sampson is suffering from a hamstring injury.

Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson struggles with a hamstring injury against Ohio State

Sampson was seen on the sidelines with his helmet on, but he is clearly very uncomfortable. This is the biggest game of the year for the Vols – he wouldn’t be out if the problem wasn’t so big that he wouldn’t play.

The standout RB was one of the best defenders in the country this year and people remain upset that he wasn’t a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. He was a first-team All-SEC pick and also the player of the year. He fully deserved this honor.

It’s a big disappointment that he was a bit banged up against the Buckeyes. Soon we’ll see if he can get back on the field, but if he continues to miss more action, Tennessee’s night could get even worse as Ohio State completely dominated the game.

UPDATE: ESPN just showed Sampson trying to jog on the field, but he just can’t move without pain. He’s struggling with tension in his hamstrings and he’s just not getting better. Understandably, Sampson looked pretty frustrated on the sidelines as he tried to get back into the game.