He got screwed out of the Ted Hendricks Award and a chance at the Chuck Bednarik Award, but Derek Barnett is at least earning respect on a national stage in other ways.
A day after being named to the Coaches All-SEC team, the junior defensive end was named a first-team All-American defensive end by USA TODAY Sports and Sports Illustrated and a first-team All-SEC defensive end by the AP, in addition to the coaches.
Of course, Barnett should have gained way more recognition than he did. After all, he had 12 sacks on the year, tying Reggie White’s school record for career sacks in one less season, and he also had 18 tackles for a loss.