The fan reaction to Derek Barnett getting drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 14 overall pick was overwhelmingly positive. Vol fans all across the state and country were excited about the idea of Barnett following former Vol legend Reggie White’s footsteps to Philadelphia after he broke White’s sack record at Tennessee.
One person, however, apparently wasn’t a big fan. And they took to Twitter to say so.
Whoever runs the official Tennessee Tech football Twitter account was apparently not sold on Barnett’s ability as an all-around defensive end. They tweeted out a video from Tennessee’s 55-0 victory over the Golden Eagles last season that showed Barnett get pushed out of a running play by a double team.
What the poster failed to realize, however, was that Barnett was not only double teamed, but the run play was also called to the opposite side of Barnett. And the play in the tape itself ended up going for only two yards. In fact, Tech ran for a total of just 60 yards on 38 carries in the entire game. Barnett essentially played in one quarter in that game.
Vol fans went on the offensive after the tweet was posted, and the backlash was so great that the official Tennessee Tech account deleted the tweet. Here’s a screen shot of what the original tweet said:
Regardless of what the person behind the tweet thinks, Derek Barnett is now officially a Philadelphia Eagle and is the first Vol taken in the first round since 2014. Tech, meanwhile, has never had a player drafted higher than the No. 42 overall pick in the school’s history.
