Defensive player of the week awards rolled in for Tennessee junior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor after his performance this weekend against No. 11 Kentucky.
After being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week and Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Taylor was named the Chuck Bednarik National Player of the Week by the Maxwell Football Club on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty fun,” Taylor said on seeing the national recognition come in. “It’s always a blessing. Being able to enjoy it with my teammates and the people around me that I love is good for me.”
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Taylor’s recognition comes after a dominating performance against No. 11 Kentucky. With only three sacks on the season heading into the game, the Virginia native exploded for a career-high four sacks, four tackles for a loss, seven tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Taylor became just the third Vol defender ever to total four sacks in one game, joining Reggie White and Corey Miller as the only Vols to ever do so.
“That’s crazy,” Taylor said of joining White in the record book. “I never thought that would happen. It feels really good, and I get to enjoy it with my teammates and my family.”
The four-sack performance was Taylor’s second multiple-sack game of the season. He had three sacks on Sept. 29 at Georgia, and he forced two fumbles in that game to go along with those three sacks.
Through 10 games this season, the redshirt junior has seven sacks. While he sits tied for sixth in the conference in that category, all seven of his sacks have come against Georgia and Kentucky. In the other eight games, Taylor hasn’t recorded a single sack. He’s looking for a way to find more consistency in his game.
“It’s just focusing on the little things,” Taylor explained. “Studying the film, practicing the little things.”
Taylor was first to credit the coaches for calling a great game against Kentucky when asked about his success. If you ask Jeremy Pruitt, though, he would say that Taylor had no excuse not to get two of his four sacks in the game.
“Well, twice they didn’t block him,” Pruitt said during his Monday press conference. “When they don’t block you, you need to sack the quarterback.
“Darrell has ability. We’ve been harping on him all year about consistency. He’s learning a new scheme, and he’s got a lot thrown at him just like the other guys, and he’s going to continue to improve in the duration of his career.”
Some of Taylor’s inconsistencies can be attributed to a new style of play. In Butch Jones’ defense, Taylor was a traditional 4-3 defensive end. In Pruitt’s system, he stands up to rush the quarterback more often than not. Taylor may enjoy doing both, but Pruitt is focused on having his players as comfortable as can be.
“We want them to play in a stance that they can be the most productive at, depending on plays,” Pruitt stated. “We play 3-4 (defense) and we stand up and then we play 4-3 (defense), so it depends on the plays that they run.”
Taylor said that the two sacks he got while being uncovered could be attributed to one of two things.
“Maybe it’s a bust, or maybe it’s just luck,” he stated. Taylor added that he was just reading his man. After his man blocked down and no other offensive lineman was coming across, he took off.
“My eyes got so big,” Taylor said. “I’m glad I made those, and I was in a position to make them, so I wouldn’t get my butt cussed out.”
Whether it’s because his hand was in the dirt more or not, Taylor’s impact on defense led Tennessee to its most complete game of the season on defense.
The Vols held Kentucky to just 77 rushing yards, which was just the second time this season the Wildcats had gained fewer than 80 yards on the ground. Tennessee allowed Kentucky to average just 2.2 yards per rush. That’s with the SEC’s second-leading rusher – Benny Snell Jr. – in the backfield.
“I thought we played with toughness,” Pruitt said following the win on Saturday. “I thought defensively, we kept them from creating explosive plays. We kind of made them one dimensional, and it’s a lot easier to guard the pass if you make them one dimensional.”
Along with stopping Kentucky’s potent rushing attack, the Vols limited Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson to under 200 passing yards. Wilson was 21-of-34 for 172 yards with a touchdown and an interception. When Gunner Hoak came in for Wilson, the Vols picked him off as well.
“We did a really good job of keeping the quarterback in the pocket,” Pruitt said. “We kept him from creating some big plays in the passing game, and we kept our edges.”
With win No. 5 on the season in the books, Tennessee now turns its attention to Missouri and picking up win No. 6 in order to reach a bowl game. If the Vols are going to do that, they’re going to have to play consistent football throughout their remaining two games following their most complete game of the year against Kentucky.
“I think a lot of it goes into preparation and the plan,” Pruitt said. “There are lots of things that go into having a good football team and being good as a unit. Our guys are working hard to improve on that, and now we’ve got to continue to do that.”
Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 SEC) welcomes back former head coach and current Missouri (6-4, 2-4 SEC) offensive coordinator Derek Dooley on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
