All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee Football: 10 Vols Most Deserving of 2016 Postseason Recognition

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett (9) hits Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason (10) causing a fumble recovered by Tennessee for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett (9) hits Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason (10) causing a fumble recovered by Tennessee for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 11
Next
Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett (9) in action during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. The Aggies defeat the Volunteers 45-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett (9) in action during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. The Aggies defeat the Volunteers 45-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Let’s start with the good. Derek Barnett made first-team All-SEC for the Coaches side, he’ll likely make it on the AP side, and he is a strong candidate for All-American honors.

However, he is not getting anywhere near the respect he deserves.

Barnett is on the finalists list for the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end. But he did not make it as a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player overall.

And all three guys who got on there make his omission a travesty.

One was Alabama defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who finished the year with 56 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, and eight and a half sacks. The other was defensive end Myles Garrett, who finished the year with 32 tackles, including 15 tackles for a loss and eight and a half sacks as well.

Then there’s Barnett, who is a defensive lineman like the other two. He finished with 50 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, and 12 sacks.

If you’re keeping score, that’s more tackles, tackles for a loss, and sacks than Garrett and more tackles for a loss and sacks than Allen. He also forced more fumbles than Allen and as many as Garrett, and he broke up more passes than both.

Oh, he also had more quarterback hurries than both.

So in no universe should either of these guys be listed ahead of him for the nation’s top defensive player.

But the travesty doesn’t end.

The final guy on the list is Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jabrill Peppers. Sure, it’s a different position, but even he is not on Barnett’s level when it comes to stats. He only has 16 more tackles as a linebacker! Sure, he also has one interception.

But he only has 13 tackles for a loss, three sacks, one pass deflected, and no forced fumble or fumble recovery. So Barnett blows him out of the water in numbers too.

All of this is to say that we already know Barnett’s greatness as a defensive lineman, a guy about to break Reggie White’s school record for career sacks in only three years.

At the same time, his stats far outweigh the stats of guys up for defensive player of the year. But he was inexplicably left off that list.

And it’s one of the greatest travesties in college football awards history. Barnett should be All-SEC, All-American, and the nation’s top defensive player. It shouldn’t even be close.

Home/Vols Football