Derek Barnett (9) and Danny O'Brien (95) look to the bench. The Florida Gators visited the Tennessee Volunteers in a important SEC football contest at Neyland Stadium on September 24, 2016.KNOXVILLE - With three of its stars watching from the sideline, Tennessee's defense badly needed a spark.
Derek Barnett decided to light the whole place on fire.
The defensive end recorded one of the best performances of his career against Florida by taking over the game in the second half to inspire a valiant effort by the Volunteers' shorthanded defense.
"He's not very vocal. As a leader, he speaks with his play," safety Todd Kelly Jr. said Tuesday, "and I think his pads speak for themselves and the plays that he makes. We kind of feed off of his energy, and when he makes a play, he lets everybody know that I'm doing this for you all and I want to win the game and I have to do whatever it takes in order to do that.
"I feel like he took a big jump in his leadership from that game, and he's started to become more vocal. He let us know what we need to do and what he's going to do in order to win the game. I feel like that was a big step for him in the process."
Barnett never has been a big talker, at least when recorders and television cameras are near him, and he especially prefers not to talk about himself or his developing leadership skills.
He remains aware, though, of the impact he can have on a game and on his teammates, both in the heat of a desperate second-half rally or during the doldrums of a Tuesday afternoon practice.
"I get a sense for it, and some young guys tell me they look up to me and stuff," Barnett said. "I continue and try to do things correctly. I feel like everybody's a leader, and everybody's a leader in different ways. I'm not the only leader on the team. We have many great leaders on our team."
The best of them, particularly defensively, were on the sideline for most of the Florida game.
The Vols knew they would be without cornerback Cameron Sutton and linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. going into the game, and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin gave it a go before taking himself out of the game.
Those are three of Tennessee's best vocal leaders and most productive players.
"We lost a few guys, but it's next man up and it just goes to say that we have a lot of young guys in this program who's very talented," Barnett said. "They've all stepped up and played really well. I don't think I've changed myself being a leader. I've just been myself and just continued doing the things we've been doing."
Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop after the game told Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports that Barnett called out several of his teammates for not responding to coaching during a practice last week.
"That's what the alpha male is supposed to do," Shoop told Feldman. "What he did for the team this week I'll never forget. It was pretty impressive."
The most impressive part came in the second half, when Barnett had two sacks and a tackle for loss in a four-play span to end two Florida possessions.
"It was just Derek saying, 'Climb on my back, I got this,'" Shoop told Fox Sports. "I'm not sure I've ever had a player take over a game quite like he did for us."
In the fourth quarter Barnett started Tennessee's final defensive stand by batting down a screen pass at the line, and in typical Barnett fashion the former high school tight end was upset after the game he didn't intercept it for a touchdown.
"We say he's the best D-lineman in the nation," quarterback Josh Dobbs said. "I know it's great for our O-linemen to go against him and the rest of the D-line each week in preparing for Saturdays. To see him take over the game in the third quarter, that really gave us a lot of momentum on offense.
"Eight three-and-outs or something crazy, it gave us a lot of momentum and we were able to take advantage of the field position."
As Tennessee continues to chase its goals this season the Vols will need Barnett to continue to inspire their defense, whether it's with his voice or with his play.
"When I line down I see the guys beside me and I'm just like, let me make a big play," Barnett said. "And then if I make one, then someone else can make one. That's what I'm thinking about when I'm playing. Honestly, I just think, if I play good, the next guy's going to play good and then it's just an effect and everybody's going to play well."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.