Tennessee defensive backs Cameron Sutton, left, and defensive end Derek Barnett celebrate stopping Utah State on 3rd down in this file photo.KNOXVILLE – Derek Barnett made one play that went a long way to sealing Tennessee’s overtime win at South Carolina last week.
Moments earlier, the freshman defensive end came perilously close to denying himself the opportunity to make it.
With the Volunteers needing a third-down stop late in regulation to give their offense a chance to tie the game, Barnett chased down Dylan Thompson and slung the Gamecocks quarterback around by the shoulder for another couple of yards after Thompson appeared to go to the ground to give himself up.
It assuredly created a heart-in-throat moment for Steve Stripling and Tennessee’s coaching staff.
“Absolutely,” said Stripling, the Vols’ veteran defensive line coach, when asked this week if he feared Barnett’s sling would lead to a disastrous personal-foul penalty.