Tennessee Football: Could Derek Barnett Surpass Reggie White’s Vols Legacy?
Tennessee football defensive end Derek Barnett has been a superstar his first two years in Knoxville. Could his Volunteers legacy surpass Reggie White?
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Through only two seasons, Tennessee Vols junior Derek Barnett has already made a huge splash in the SEC. He has reached 10 sacks a year in each year and is already on the Top 10 all-time Tennessee sacks list.
One great season this year could allow him to chase history.
Going into this year, Barnett only needs five sacks to tie Jonathan Brown for No. 3 on the all-time career sacks list. He needs eight to tie Leonard Little for No. 2 on the list. And with 12, only two more than he has had each of the past two seasons, Barnett would tie the all-time great Reggie White.
As a defensive lineman, the late White is obviously a Vols legend, an NFL Hall-of-Famer, and one of the five most beloved players in Tennessee football history.
But he only had 10 sacks his first two years in college. Barnett had 10 sacks each year. White had 146 total tackles his first two years, while Barnett was only five off with 141. All of this leads to Barnett seriously threatening White’s reign as the greatest defensive lineman in school history.
Consider that White’s record came only after an incredible 15-sack season his senior year. Barnett could tie that his junior year without such a season. He already has more sacks his first two years than White did his first three.
If he keeps up this pace, he will be on pace to shatter White’s record.
Barnett’s numbers alone, though, aren’t what could move him ahead of White. It’s the fact that he puts up those numbers almost exclusively in big games.
I have maintained in the past that Peerless Price is the greatest receiver in Tennessee history because he came through in every big game when it mattered. Barnett is the same way. And among Vols defensive linemen, he could leave the school with the best overall numbers on top of that.
Consider the fact that in two years, 18 of his 20 sacks came in SEC games. The other two came against ranked non-conference teams.
There’s also the team aspect.
We can praise White all we want, but Tennessee never accomplished anything of significance while he was there. So far, the same holds true with Barnett. But if he stays all four years and helps the Vols to an SEC Title, then Barnett might have to shoot up to the top.
Detractors may say he had more help than White, but in 1982 he had five teammates that were or would become All-Americans outside of himself, and the early 1980s Vols can be seen as a massively underachieving program as Johnny Majors was still trying to rebuild.
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So overall, considering the fact that Barnett is on track to surpass White’s numbers and could do it in three years, and with the prospects of Tennessee football having a great year, there is an amazing chance that Barnett surpasses White’s legacy as a Vols defensive lineman in college.
But it’s still a hard task. He might leave for the NFL after three years. And it’s incredibly unlikely that Barnett matches White’s NFL success.