NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea were voted the TSWA Football Player and Coach of the Year, respectively, for the 2024 season, as announced this week by the organization.
Sampson earned SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press and league coaches, helping the Vols to a 10-3 record, a Top 10 ranking and the program’s first College Football Playoff berth. He was selected a Second Team All-American by Walter Camp, the FWAA, Sporting News and USA Today and was a First Team All-SEC selection.
The Baton Rouge, La., native shattered school single-season records in rushing yards (1,491), rushing touchdowns (22), total touchdowns scored (22), points scored (132) and consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (11). He led the SEC in nine different categories, including rushing attempts (258), rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, 100-yard rushing games (10), rushing yards per game (114.7), points scored, points per game (10.2), all-purpose yards (1,638) and all-purpose yards per game (126.0).
In conference-only games Sampson was even better, leading the league in nearly every rushing category, including yards (1,051) and touchdowns by a running back (12). His 22 rushing touchdowns tied for fifth in SEC single-season history and were the most by an SEC player since 2020. He helped the Vols to wins over rivals Alabama and Florida, rushing over 100 yards in each and combining for five touchdowns in those games.
Lea garnered SEC Coach of the Year accolades, leading the Commodores to their best season in over a decade. Vanderbilt posted a winning season and won a bowl game for the first time since 2013, defeating Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl.
The Commodores hit a number of historic milestones during the 2024 campaign, defeating the nation’s top-ranked team with a 40-35 victory over Alabama, a first in program annals. It was the first win over the Tide since 1984 and the program’s first win over a Top 5 team in 60 tries.
The Commodores followed with a win at Kentucky to give the program its best start since 2008. Lea’s squad clinched its first bowl appearance since 2018 with a win at Auburn, the program’s first-ever at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It marked the first time since 1955 Vanderbilt defeated Auburn and Alabama in the same season.
The Birmingham Bowl win over the Yellow Jackets marked the first win over Georgia Tech since 1941, snapping a six-game skid in the rivalry for the Golden Cowbell.
A listing of past football player and coach of the year award winners may be found at https://www.tswaonline.com/alltime-playerscoaches-of-year.