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Tennessee football 2018 recap: Top 10 plays of Vols season

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Marquez Callaway #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers catches a last second pass over Derrick Baity Jr. #8 of the Kentucky Wildcatsduring the first half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Marquez Callaway #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers catches a last second pass over Derrick Baity Jr. #8 of the Kentucky Wildcatsduring the first half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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8. Darrin Kirkland Jr. pick-six vs. ETSU

Okay, this is probably one of the most meaningless plays. It came against the worst team Tennessee football played all year, the ETSU Bucs. But the fact that it was against an FCS school wasn’t the only thing that made this meaningless.

It also came in the first half with the Vols already dominating. A series of mistakes by ETSU spotted them a 24-0 lead already, so they could easily sleep their way to this win. And that’s exactly what they did en route to a 59-3 victory.

But this was the first win of Jeremy Pruitt’s career. So there is some significance there. On top of that, defensive touchdowns are always exciting. As a result, Darrin Kirkland Jr.’s interception touchdown return for 33 yards was an exciting play to witness.

It’s worth noting that Kirkland had missed most of 2016 and all of 2017 due to injury. He is the smartest player on the team, though, and picked up the 3-4 defense quickly. So it was great for everybody on Rocky Top to see him come through with a big play.

Kirkland may have issues against SEC teams when it comes to tackling bigger guys in open space. But he’s always been great in coverage, and he proved it on this play. Overall, it may have been meaningless, but defensive touchdowns count as exciting enough to make the list. And that’s exactly what this was. So we decided to put it on here with no regrets.

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