Tennessee’s defense took control of Alabama on Saturday from the very beginning, and Tyree Weathersby was a major part of it. Monday, Weathersby was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week.
Weathersby totaled four tackles, 2.5 for loss, two sacks, and a fumble recovery in the win over Alabama. Weathersby played 42 of 55 defensive snaps and helped Tennessee keep the Tide to 54 rushing yards and 2.1 yards per carry. Alabama managed only 201 yards of total offense, 62 of them on its final drive with the game in hand.
“Great win. Defense. Suffocating, elite performance. Really proud of those guys,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the game.” They handled adversity, sudden change extremely well. Great performance by them. As a team, found a way to win against a good football team. Really proud of our guys. Enjoy this one tonight and start getting better tomorrow.”
Weathersby is up to 6.5 sacks this season, including 5.5 in conference play, which ranks second in the SEC in league-only games. Tennessee as a whole leads the nation with 30 sacks, and is third in the country with 58 tackles for loss.
This week, No. 11 Tennessee will hit the road to Columbia, S.C., to face the South Carolina Gamecocks. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Wes Durham will have the play-by-play, with Dusty Dvoracek handling duties as the analyst, and Taylor McGregor as the sideline reporter.
