Tennessee football linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. had a breakout season as a freshman in 2015. But the Volunteers linebacker will now be tested in 2016.
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It wasn’t just the 66 tackles that made Darrin Kirkland Jr. a breakout star last year on the Tennessee Vols’ defense. It wasn’t just the fact that he was leaps and bounds better than Colton Jumper.
Kirkland stood out as a playmaker making the same impact late in the season that Jalen Reeves-Maybin drew a reputation for making. With 10 starts on the year, Kirkland came away with three sacks, six and a half tackles for a loss, a fumble recovery, and even an interception that he nearly returned for a touchdown.
Having done all this as a freshman, the expectations have shot up for the 6’1″ 230-pound sophomore from Indianapolis going into 2016, as he is the clear-cut starter at middle linebacker. But he needs to be careful.
Given the fact that Kirkland was fighting to earn his starting spot last year and kind of came out of nowhere, it was hard for teams to be prepared for him down the stretch.
After all, through the first seven games of the season, Kirkland had 29 tackles. He had 37 in the final six games along with an interception returned for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who finished the year with 105 tackles, racked up 67 of them in those first seven games while Kirkland was still flying under the radar. He only racked up 38 in those final six games as Kirkland emerged.
So what does all of this mean?
It means that last year, Kirkland benefitted from the mediocre Tennessee football opponents down the stretch trying to run away from Reeves-Maybin. As a result, they ran towards him, allowing him to rack up stats.
Expect this year to be different.
Kirkland will not go unnoticed by other teams this year, and he will be the main guy starting all season provided he stays healthy. When the Vols enter that brutal four-game stretch against Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Alabama, they will be facing three offensive geniuses. And Kirby Smart could have the Bulldogs looking solid.
All of them will know to plan for Kirkland. Heck, even at the Battle at Bristol, new head coach Justin Fuente for the Virginia Tech Hokies will know to prepare for him given his history of being an offensive genius.
This year, Kirkland will have to deal with not flying under the radar anymore. It’s easy to rack up stats when bad offenses don’t account for you. It’s hard when good offenses do, and it’s even harder not to screw up on plays.
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Butch Jones and Bob Shoop appear to clearly have faith in Kirkland, and rightfully so after his freshman year. But he will have to work extra hard to avoid a sophomore slump.