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Tennessee football: Top 10 impact players for Vols 2019 season

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images /

A potential stats machine for Tennessee football this year, Darrell Taylor could be the guy on defense who leaps off the screen and draws the attention from everybody with his play. The 6’4″ 255-pound fifth-year senior edge rusher is the perfect player to stand out above everybody else in Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 scheme, and he showed flashes in the transition last year.

Moving from defensive end to outside linebacker took Taylor a bit of time. He was also the No. 2 outside linebacker behind Jonathan Kongbo for half the season. However, he still finished with eight sacks, leading all returning SEC players for this year, and 11 tackles for a loss, which was tied for third among those players. Oh, he also had three forced fumbles.

The problem with Taylor was that all of his big plays came in three games, against the Georgia Bulldogs, the Kentucky Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores. This year, with more experience, his goal is to be more consistent with his impact plays. There’s no reason to believe he can’t come through in that regard.

Pruitt knows he has an elite weapon, and he’s a welcome guy for a new defensive coordinator like Derrick Ansley to work with. Taylor should explode onto the scene and stand out all season long if he builds off of what he did last year. In fact, don’t be surprised if he starts threatening a couple of UT records towards the end of the season. His potential is that great.

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