KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s defense dominated for stretches of last week’s win against Virginia Tech with minimal contributions to the box score from one of its best players.
Derek Barnett was credited with just one tackle in the 45-24 win against the Hokies, and though the junior defensive end was glad to see some of his line mates help the Volunteers take control in the second and third quarters, Barnett certainly wants to make more of a mark.
“I feel like I’ve been playing good,” he said Tuesday. “I need to improve. I think VT was one of my softer performances, but I’m still pushing and I come in here every day with a good mindset to continue to get better, because I have a lot of work to do.”
During his first two seasons at Tennessee, Barnett made 141 tackles while also piling up 20 sacks and 33 tackles for loss, and he had double-digit tackle games against Ole Miss in 2014 and Oklahoma in 2015.
Yet both Appalachian State and Virginia Tech either intentionally minimized Barnett’s disruptive ability or avoided him altogether as part of their game plans.