How Alex Golesh provided extra motivation for DeSean Bishop’s career day in Tennessee’s win over Auburn

DeSean Bishop never lacked motivation in a Tennessee football career that began as a backup in 2023, but the chip on the running back’s shoulder was a little bigger against Auburn Saturday because of the other coach on the visitors’ sideline at Neyland Stadium.

After beating the Tigers for a career-high 220 yards and three touchdowns in the Vols’ 24-14 victory, Bishop said Auburn head coach Alex Goleshwho served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator for the first two seasons (2021-22) of the Josh Heupelwas “one of the reasons” he began his career with his hometown Vols as a non-scholarship player.

Now a senior who was an All-SEC performer in 2025 and surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards in Saturday’s game, Bishop didn’t forget the affront when he faced Golesh’s Auburn defense.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m going to keep it real – like this game was very personal because of Golesh’s mindset, he was one of the reasons I was a walk-on at the University of Tennessee,” Bishop said.

“So the mindset was throughout the game, that every time I touched the ball, like they had to feel me, they had to feel what they were missing when they brought me here. But in a way, it was really a blessing in disguise, that I wouldn’t be here without his goal. So every time I touch the ball, man, it’s a goal that I’m trying to prove.

“I try to make people feel me when I throw the ball, and that just comes from who I was and who I am and how hard I work on and off the field. Those opportunities were presented to me to put the team in a good position to win, man. I made sure I made them count.”

After switching quarterbacks in the second quarter, Tennessee put the game on Bishop and his offensive line. With Daune Morris failing to get another carry after his fumble in the second quarter, the Vols simply continued to feed Bishop and feed Bishop. He ended up with a college career-high 34 carries, but that’s nothing for a player who played the football on virtually every play during his football career at Karns High School.

Tennessee’s recruitment of Bishop was complicated. The Vols offered him, at one of their camps in June 2021, one of the first in-person recruiting opportunities for a new coaching staff after the NCAA lifted its recruiting dead period caused by the pandemic. Bishop attended several games at Neyland Stadium during his junior season.

But since Tennessee wasn’t entirely convinced of him, Bishop committed to Coastal Carolina in July 2022. When the Chanticleers underwent a coaching change, Bishop opened up his recruitment and ultimately chose the backup opportunity at Tennessee over a scholarship to Appalachian State.

It worked exceptionally well for Bishop, and it certainly worked well for Tennessee on Saturday. Bishop had touchdown runs of 25 and 44 yards in the third quarter as the Vols turned a 7-3 deficit into a 17-7 lead. In the fourth quarter, he converted a fourth-and-1 and scored a 5-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach for Golesh’s team.

“First and foremost, all glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Bishop said. “I knew it was his game plan, especially when the first one was called back. I calmed down, I said to myself ‘God’s plan’ and he surely had a plan for that today.

“The whole mentality was crumbling when my number was called. It was a little slow start to the start of the running game as well, but you just had to lean on him and trust that he was going to provide for us tonight, and he always does, man. I’m just very grateful for what he allowed me to do.

“Yeah, I definitely had a lot more carries than my previous times, but it was like the Karns days, and I was running the ball a bunch of times, doing what I could to put my team in the best place to succeed, so God is good, man.”