Tennessee Football DE Derek Barnett Breaks Reggie White's All-Time Vols Sacks Record
Tennessee football defensive end Derek Barnett broke Reggie White’s school record for sacks at UT in the Volunteers’ Music City Bowl win over Nebraska.
In just three years, Derek Barnett set the all-time Tennessee football record for career sacks. He broke Reggie White’s record of 32 sacks in the Vols’ 38-24 Music City Bowl win over the Cornhuskers Friday.
Barnett finished the season with 13 sacks after having 10 each of his first two seasons. He is the only SEC player to have 10 or more sacks his first three seasons in college.
It was one of the biggest highlights in a up-and-down season for the Vols.
And it put a solid end to the tumultuous year. Here is the sack.
Here’s where Derek Barnett breaks Reggie White’s #Vols all time record for career sacks. pic.twitter.com/MvFc1rkH56
— John Caleb Calhoun (@CalebCalhoun) December 31, 2016
This is the celebration that followed.
#Vols celebrate after Derek Barnett breaks the school sacks record. #NebvsTenn #MusicCityBowl pic.twitter.com/7R0o6wVj9o
— John Caleb Calhoun (@CalebCalhoun) December 31, 2016
Fans and players got in on the action.
The celebration went on for a while after Barnett broke the #Vols career sacks record in the #MusicCityBowl. #NebvsTenn pic.twitter.com/Fl1dVUoj6C
— John Caleb Calhoun (@CalebCalhoun) December 31, 2016
Barnett kept pressuring Nebraska backup quarterback Ryker Fyfe all night but constantly had trouble closing the deal.
He should have had the sack earlier in the game, but the refs made a terrible call ruling this strip sack as an incomplete pass.
Not ruled a fumble. Would have been a record breaking sack. Barnett getting screwed by #Pac12refs pic.twitter.com/LeoLrKoaoi
— Bad Officiating (@IneptOfficials) December 30, 2016
With time running out in the game, it seemed like he would never get that elusive sack. But, as you can see from the video above, Bob Shoop made a brilliant call to line Barnett up on the other side for a play.
And that was when he got the sack.
This was likely Barnett’s last game with Tennessee football, as the junior would be a fool not to leave early for the NFL.
But he has earned a very special place in the hearts of Vols fans everywhere to break a record held by such a legend.
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