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Tennessee football Smokey Points: Top 5 Vols performers vs. UTEP Miners

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Running back Madre London #31 of the Tennessee Volunteers is tackled by the UTEP Miners defense during the second half of the game between the UTEP Miners and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-0. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Running back Madre London #31 of the Tennessee Volunteers is tackled by the UTEP Miners defense during the second half of the game between the UTEP Miners and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-0. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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While Darrin Kirkland Jr. has been the star linebacker of Tennessee football early on under Jeremy Pruitt, Daniel Bituli has been the guy we keep hearing about. Everybody knows about what he did last year and his abilities to rush the passer. But what can he do in the 3-4 defense as an inside linebacker who sometimes rushes off the edge?

Well, he showed that on Saturday. Bituli led the team in tackles with six overall. He, like Kirkland, also came up with a sack. So although it was against the UTEP MIners, the junior linebacker finally showed up and made some plays.

Bituli was going to be crucial in this game from the start. Quart’e Sapp was held out of the game as a precautionary measure, and the Vols desperately needed their linebackers to show up against a Dana Dimel-coached team.

Anybody who saw what he did as offensive coordinator with the Kansas State Wildcats and the quarterback he now has in Kai Locksley knows that he relies on his quarterback to carry the offense through misdirection plays and improvisational skills. That’s where the linebackers come in, and Kirkland wasn’t going to be able to do it by himself Saturday.

As a result, Bituli absolutely deserves a helmet sticker for his play. The Vols probably still win comfortably without him, but he definitely made it easier, especially with the game being as ugly as it was. Like Kirkland, he needs to make this a trend going forward with SEC play set to start.

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