Tennessee football is just over halfway through its 2026 schedule and owns a 6-1 (3-1 SEC) record. This puts the Vols in the driver’s seat for the College Football Playoffs as it stares down its final five SEC contests.

As we hit the midway point of the year, On3 has released its Midseason All-America Team. This included a pair of Tennessee stars, running back DeSean Bishop and defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam.

Bishop has 139 carries to his name so far, totaling 837 yards and 10 touchdowns. This places Bishop third nationally and second in the SEC in rushing yards so far. He’s also been relied upon to close out multiple UT wins, including the upset of Alabama this past Saturday.

“You always pay attention to body language,” UT running backs coach De’Rail Sims said. “Does he look fatigued? That type deal. You kind of go off — we always got that on the sideline, how you feeling in between the drives. He’s a guy that’s been built this way his whole entire career, starting back in high school. So you can just tell the more and more that he gets, the stronger he gets as the game goes along. Not intentional to load him up that way. It just gets to the point he gets hot, and you just got to let him go.”

NEW: On3 College Football Midseason All-America Team🇺🇸

https://t.co/ADNYzzbYai

— On3 (@On3) October 20, 2026

Gilliam has notched 23 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He’s also been drawing double teams, opening up big plays for his edge rushers and fellow interior linemen.

“Interior guys helping edges, edges helping interior guys,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “That group has had a dramatic impact on really every football game. And it’s a credit to those guys that they’re playing in that style consistently. And we’re gonna need that from them this week when we go on the road.”

Tennessee is next in action this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.