The Monday following the Vols’ 17-13 win over Kentucky has been a great day for some of Tennessee’s veterans.
On Monday morning, linebacker Daniel Bituli was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in the last three weeks. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings was also added to Biletnikoff Award watch list.
Also on Monday, redshirt senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor accepted an invitation to the 2020 Senior Bowl. Taylor had been on the radar of the Senior Bowl since the start of the season, and now he’ll be participating in the event on January 25th in Mobile, Alabama.
We are proud to announce @Vol_Football LB/EDGE Darrell Taylor (@DarrellTaylorST) has officially accepted his invitation to the 2020 Reese’s Senior Bowl! #VFL #PoweredByTheT #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE pic.twitter.com/fhXwd9cgEa
— Reese’s Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) November 11, 2019
Taylor has been the Vols’ most productive pass rusher this season, totaling seven sacks and eight tackles for loss in 10 games. The redshirt senior has also tied his career-high in tackles with 36, and he’s defended four passes, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble this season, too.
Last year, Taylor enjoyed a breakout season as a redshirt junior, totaling 36 tackles, eight sacks, 11 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. Inconsistency plagued Taylor, however, as all eight of his sacks came in three of the 12 games he played. His performances against Georgia (three sacks), Kentucky (four sacks), and Vanderbilt (one sack, three tackles for loss), were impressive, but Taylor was barely heard from in the other nine games.
This season, Taylor has been more consistent in his production.
As a redshirst senior, Taylor has gotten a sack in five of the 10 games he’s played, and he’s picked up at least one tackle for loss in six of his 10 games. Six of Taylor’s seven sacks this season have come against SEC opponents and BYU.
In his UT career, Taylor has 18 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss in 40 games. He’s also totaled 108 tackles, seven passes defended, six forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries.
