Former Tennessee Vols star named by national media outlet as one of the best true freshmen players in College Football Playoff era
On Friday, 247Sports ranked the top 10 true freshmen players of the College Football Playoff era (which started in 2014) and a former Tennessee Vols standout made their list. 247Sports ranked former Volunteers defensive lineman Derek Barnett at No. 9 on their list of top true freshmen players during the College Football Playoff era. Barnett […]
On Friday, 247Sports ranked the top 10 true freshmen players of the College Football Playoff era (which started in 2014) and a former Tennessee Vols standout made their list.
247Sports ranked former Volunteers defensive lineman Derek Barnett at No. 9 on their list of top true freshmen players during the College Football Playoff era.
Barnett was a four-star recruit coming out of Brentwood Academy. He was rated by 247Sports as the No. 8 strongside defensive end in the 2014 recruiting class and the No. 4 player in the state of Tennessee.
From 247Sports: An immediate starter and superstar for Tennessee, Derek Barnett just put up numbers as a true freshman. He had an incredible 72 tackles as a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive end to go along with 21 tackles for loss (first in the SEC) and 10 sacks.
Barnett came on particularly strong in SEC play, posting 18 TFLs in eight conference games. He had a three-sack performance against then-No. 3 Ole Miss and posted three sacks again two weeks later against Kentucky.
He was instantly one of the sport's best and most productive edge rushers.
Barnett, who was a first round selection by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 NFL Draft, made an instant impact for Tennessee as a true freshman, totaling 10 sacks while playing in all 13 games for the Vols.
The Nashville native would go on to break Reggie White's Tennessee record for career sacks (Barnett finished his Tennessee career with 33 sacks).
Barnett just wrapped up his eighth season in the NFL. After spending the first six and a half seasons of his career with the Eagles (he won a Super Bowl as a rookie in Philadelphia), Barnett has spent the last season and a half with the Houston Texans.
