University of Tennessee Athletics
Barnett Continues To Exceed Expectation
November 12, 2014 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- It was hard to know exactly what to expect from Derek Barnett when he first stepped on the field at Tennessee.
Sure, the freshman defensive end was a highly-touted prospect, rated as a 4-star by all four major recruiting services. He was a back-to-back Mr. Football award winner in Tennessee. His stats as a senior at Brentwood Academy in Nashville were impressive, 5.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, 60 total tackles.
But freshmen do not simply step in on the defensive line in the SEC. Unless, of course, you are Derek Barnett.
"We really didn't know what to expect," head coach Butch Jones said of Barnett. "Derek was an individual that wasn't here at spring football. So, really you don't know what you're getting when you show up in August. We had, with some of the rule changes, him prepared mentally, but you never knew."
There were spots open on the defense, with all four starters having departed after the 2013 season. Curt Maggitt's return to the field would lock down one of the spots, but a best-case scenario would have Barnett contribute enough to play a few snaps. Instead, he showed right away that he had a different gear and worked himself firmly into the rotation.
He continued to build his resume every day in practice, answering any questions on whether he could keep up the torrid pace he set for himself. And when the starters were announced for the opener against Utah State, there was Barnett's name, the first true freshman to start on the defensive line in Tennessee history.
Starting game one was just a start.
"He's proven that and he's making an impact," Jones said of Barnett's backing up his early performances. "I don't know where we would be without him. He's done a great job in what we've asked of him."
What they have asked of him is to hold down a starting defensive end job as a freshman in the most competitive conference in college football. He has done far more than just hold down the spot, he has made it his business to get in the business of every quarterback he has faced.
Barnett set a Tennessee freshman record with a three-sack performance against Ole Miss and repeated the feat two weeks later against South Carolina. His seven sacks on the season rank third in the SEC among all defensive players.
"I call him sack master," linebacker A.J. Johnson said.
The freshman has impressed Maggitt as well.
"It's great to have another D-end who can get after the passer," the redshirt junior said. "You can feed off of each other and affect the quarterback together and get opportunity sacks. I think me and Barnett and (Corey) Vereen, we all complement each other's game."
His time in the backfield is not limited to sacking the quarterback. Barnett has 14 tackles for loss, which leads Tennessee and ranks second in the SEC.
"I talk to Derek every day, and I tell him, `You're one of my favorite players to watch on our team,'" linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. "The way he plays, he's a freshman but he never once was scared out there. He came in and just played his game. He's impacting the game, helping everyone else on defense."
Jones may not have known what to expect, but he definitely knows what he's getting out of Barnett now. And he has seen exactly why the freshman has been so successful.
"Great, great competitor," Jones said when asked to describe Barnett. "[He] has an internal drive, very intelligent and his effort. Usually when a young player comes into your program you have to spend an inordinate amount of time on your style of play. The effort, that's required, and the small details. He came in and right from the get go he had another gear to himself, another level. He's a great competitor. We want competitive greatness and he's done a very, very good job with that. Mature beyond his years."
