KNOXVILLE – Despite his impressive production and the undeniable impact he’s had on Tennessee’s football season, Derek Barnett continues to draw the short stick in national recognition.
His head coach and teammates can’t figure out why.
The star defensive end for the Volunteers, who leads the Southeastern Conference in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (17), is not a finalist for either the Chuck Bednarik Award or the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, the two national awards given to the top defensive player in college football.
“Leadership and production, that’s Derek Barnett,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said this week.
“He’s the only player in SEC history to record at least 10 sacks in his first three seasons. I want to say out of his 31 career sacks, 28 have come against Southeastern Conference opponents. I don’t want to take away from anyone else that was nominated for these national awards, but I don’t know what else an individual has to do.