KNOXVILLE — It took Derek Barnett about half the season to begin playing like, well, Derek Barnett.
The Tennessee defensive end became as a star last season as a freshman, when he finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference with 10 sacks and recorded 20.5 tackles for loss, the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
In the first five games of his sophomore season, though, Barnett had just one sack, against Oklahoma in the second game of the season.
The former four-star recruit has turned it on over the past month with five sacks in the last four games, however, and he’ll seek to extend that streak when the Volunteers host North Texas at Neyland Stadium for homecoming today.
“He’s always worked hard,” linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. “He never got down when he wasn’t getting sacks. They were getting the ball out. There were a lot of times they were getting it out right when he got there. Like I always say, the flow of the game kind of sometimes dictates if you get that sack or not. It’s a split-second difference every time.