Darrell Taylor puts life in UT Vols' struggling pass rush against Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. — It took Darrell Taylor only a few minutes Saturday to give Jeremy Pruitt what he has been begging for since the season began.

The Vols outside linebacker tore around the edge and through a Georgia offensive lineman, reached up his right arm and batted the ball out of Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm’s hands.

It was the start of a good day for Taylor and the Tennessee pass rush even with the bizarre finish to the play — a 31-yard touchdown run from UGA tight end Isaac Nauta, who scooped up the loose ball.

“When we don’t make mistakes and we put pressure on the quarterback, we are a very dangerous defense,” Taylor said.

Pruitt’s message in recent weeks has been consistent: The Vols need better play up front in applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

All the while, the UT pass rush had been largely nonexistent. The Vols (2-3, 0-2 SEC) had only seven sacks entering Saturday’s 38-12 loss to No. 3 Georgia (5-0, 3-0).

Taylor answered the call for the Vols, recording a career-high three sacks. He forced two fumbles, including the deflection on the first Georgia drive. He again swatted a ball from Fromm’s hands on UGA’s opening second-quarter drive.

Taylor then sacked Fromm in the third quarter.

“My coaches have been helping me out and my teammates have been helping me out,” Taylor said. “I think it feels really good to show it on the field as a defense and a D-line.”

Taylor credited his individual success to doing a better job getting off the ball and using his speed than he did in the first four games.

He said getting off the ball and shedding blocks was a focus for the defensive front as a whole as it seeks to provide a steadier, game-changing presence .

But Pruitt, who praised Taylor for getting “some licks” on Fromm, said the pressure up front was as much a result of the play in the secondary.

“I thought we covered a little better on the back end,” Pruitt said. “We made the quarterback hold the ball some. Most of the time, we didn’t get him from protection breakdowns. We got some coverage sacks. I think our guys in the secondary played better from a coverage standpoint. …

“It was good to get a few licks on the quarterback.”

Cornerback Baylen Buchanan returned the credit to the pass rush. He noted that the secondary’s job is much easier when the front line is getting pressure on the quarterback.

“That’s when you try to come up with big plays,” Buchanan said.

In part, Tennessee’s defense did that Saturday. Georgia fumbled four times — two forced by Taylor, a bobbled snap by Elijah Holyfield and an unforced fumble by  quarterback Justin Fields.

The Vols failed to recover any of the fumbles, however. Nauta picked up the first and ran it for a touchdown and offensive lineman Lamont Gaillard fell on Fromm’s second fumble. Holyfield and Fields each recovered their fumbles.

Taylor called it “bad luck” to not recover any of the fumbles. But the junior linebacker also saw enough from Tennessee as it heads into bye week to say the Vols are making progress in improving areas of weakness.

“I see it every week in practice,” Taylor said. “We practice hard all week. I think it shows up in the games at times. When you make mistakes, the other team makes you pay for it. We have made great strides toward being successful as a defense and as an offense.”

ANALYSIS:Georgia 38, Tennessee 12: 5 things we learned from UT Vols' 11th straight SEC loss

ADAMS:Why UT Vols football has reason for hope after falling to Georgia Bulldogs

GRADING THE VOLS:Tennessee football below par in loss at Georgia