Tennessee Volunteers Freshman Derek Barnett Working His Way Toward Greatness

Perhaps it's surprising how quickly Tennessee freshman defensive end Derek Barnett has made an impact on the Volunteers' young, revamped defense.

But it's not a shock to high school coach Cody White.

White, Barnett's coach at Brentwood Academy, knew his player was special when he battled through a back injury last season rather than just coasting toward his SEC scholarship.

"Some kids, when they [commit], they kind of Cadillac through their senior year," White told Bleacher Report on Tuesday. "Derek didn't do that. He worked extremely hard. I didn't know if he'd go over there and start, but I certainly thought he'd go over and put himself in a position."

After three games, the 6'3", 267-pound freshman defensive end is not only settling into a starting role, but a starring role for the Vols.

He is tied for sixth on the team with 11 tackles, including two for a loss. He also is tied for the team lead with a pair of quarterback hurries and has led a resurgent group of faster linemen who are on their way to reversing UT's pass-rushing woes of the past half-decade.

Leading a Defensive Revival in Knoxville

USA TODAY Sports

Making his second career start against the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, Barnett was dominant, blowing up plays in the backfield and containing OU quarterback Trevor Knight on the edge.

He finished with five tackles and a hurry despite being impeded much of the night.

Holding may be the only way to slow down Barnett.

UT head coach Butch Jones sang his freshman's praises all through fall practice, telling the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Patrick Brown that Barnett had a "tremendous camp" where he "upped everyone's level of play."

Even in a stout defensive end rotation that includes Curt Maggitt and Corey Vereen, among others, Barnett shines as the unit's best player. At times, coaches will put Maggitt back on the second level at linebacker to get their three-best speed-rushers on the field at the same time.

Barnett continually forces his coaches' hands when it comes to playing time and has ever since he arrived on campus this summer.

It didn't take long for Jones to know he had a future star on his hands. He told GoVols247's Wes Rucker (subscription required) Barnett's talent was complemented by the fact that he's "the epitome" of effort.

That doesn't surprise White, the blue-collar coach at Brentwood Academy who came from Texas where football is king.

Before taking over the Eagles, White coached in Denison, Texas—birthplace of President Dwight D. Eisenhower—and also coached for a time at the legendary Odessa Permian High School, made famous by the book Friday Night Lights.

He recognizes throwback toughness when he sees it, and Barnett embodies it.

As a senior at BA, Barnett battled injuries all season. Rather than take it easy, he rehabbed in order to keep playing, despite a future solidified by his commitment to Tennessee.

"We always appreciated the way he played the game," White said. "When you coach Derek and look him in the eye, you can see he wants to be the best. When you couple that with the athletic ability and competitiveness, you've got something special. That's what Tennessee's got in Derek."

Learning the Hard Way

USA TODAY Sports

That competitiveness spilled over into a major lesson learned for Barnett at the tail end of his high school career.

In a state playoff semifinal loss to rival Ensworth, Barnett delivered a late hit out of bounds in the game's waning seconds.

The hit coupled with the Ensworth announcer's reaction made the incident go viral, and it was picked up by Deadspin.com's Sean Newell. White said the personal foul was one of only a couple from his entire team all season and was out-of-character for Barnett, who quickly apologized.

The star player received a tough dose of embarrassment from the fallout, even though it was not dissimilar to the thousands of late hits that happen in football every year.

"I told Derek, 'Sometimes our greatest strength—in his case, competitiveness—can be our greatest detriment,'" White said.

"That play wasn't nearly as big a deal to me as it was some people, but we don't ever want stuff like that to happen, and Derek handled himself extremely well afterward. He was mad at himself after the game."

The Vols know all about competitive youngsters making critical blunders.

Last year, then-freshman defensive end Vereen had a pair of personal fouls against Georgia, including one that prolonged the Bulldogs' drive that sent a game UGA ultimately won into overtime.

Relentlessness sometimes needs restraint, and Barnett has shown the ability to do that so far in his college career. His most impressive attribute may be his discipline and understanding of the game.

"For a freshman he is level-headed," senior defensive tackle Jordan Williams told The Daily Beacon's Patrick Maccoon. "He doesn't panic or get too riled up when everything is flying fast around him. He's fast himself, and physical."

Bringing Wins With Him

USA TODAY Sports

Players like Barnett are therapeutic for the sickness of losing that has infected Rocky Top over the past few years.

He came from a highly successful high school football program and, according to White, elected to stay in state to be close to his mother and because he believed in what Jones was building at UT. Now, Barnett is a centerpiece for a program's hopeful resurgence.

He bristled at losing 34-10 against Oklahoma, a mentality that has been missing in Knoxville in recent years.

Barnett continued: "It hurts, but you've just got to learn from it and after we learn from it, just keep on pushing."

The confidence displayed by UT's freshmen indicates they'll eventually break through and turn around the program.

When they do, Jones can point back to winning key in-state battles for players such as Barnett as what aided the turnaround.

The Vols raided Middle Tennessee in the 2014 recruiting class for Jalen Hurd, Josh Malone, Jashon Robertson, Rashaan Gaulden, Vic Wharton, Aaron Medley and Michael Sawyers.

This year, the Vols have four commits from the Interstate 65 corridor between Murfreesboro and Nashville, and they are targeting more. It's becoming a major hotbed of talent for UT.

"I'm not trying to cast a stone here, but you could tell a major difference [when Jones took over for Derek Dooley]," White said. "As soon as Butch got there, he reached out heavily in the state. I don't ever tell the kids where to go or even have any allegiance, but at the same time, I feel like the flagship school needs to get kids from the state. He has done a phenomenal job.

"Coming from Texas, I've been around good football, and you could throw this [area] out there and be fine."

Barnett may wind up the best player from the area in a long time. While some in recruiting circles thought he'd project on the next level as a defensive tackle, Barnett worked to stay in shape and has been a force at defensive end—the position where he wanted to stay.

The start he's had is reminiscent of great UT linemen, and he is on pace to have the best freshman season of any Vols freshman defensive lineman since John Henderson.

Barnett hasn't done enough to be mentioned yet with the Tennessee legends. But with his work ethic and talent, he is only going to keep improving on a young career that already has solidified his status as a defensive centerpiece.

Unless otherwise noted all statistics gathered from UTSports.com and quotations obtained firsthand. All recruiting information from 247Sports.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter here:

@Brad_Shepard