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Tennessee Football 2016 Recap: Ranking the Top 10 Vols Performers of the Season

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 /
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Oct 29, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley (4) is sacked by Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Corey Vereen (50) in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley (4) is sacked by Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Corey Vereen (50) in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /

Other Tennessee football defensive linemen have understandably made much bigger news, but Corey Vereen may have been the most underrated contributor to the Vols all season long.

As a senior edge rusher, he showed massive development from his junior year, when he was forced into the lineup to replace Curt Maggitt after only the second game of the 2015 season.

Vereen stepped up this year and only got better as the season went on. With offensive linemen so focused on the other side of the Vols’ line, he made them pay time and time again.

When the season came to an end, Vereen had 36 total tackles, 23 of which were solo, three passes broken up, and five quarterback hurries.

Now come the glorified stats. Vereen finished the year with 11 and a half tackles for a loss, seven sacks, and two fumble recoveries. One of those fumble recoveries was for a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs.

What more could you ask for from a defensive end?

The 6’2″ 250-pound lineman was a star all year, and his best games were in two of Tennessee’s biggest wins: against Georgia and against Nebraska in the Music City Bowl.

Yes, he deserves to be this high on the list as a result. He should have been an All-SEC defensive lineman, particularly when you consider that he had to help compensate for how decimated the Vols were at defensive tackle down the stretch of the season.

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