COLUMBIA, S.C. John Henderson has attitude.
It was evident in Saturday’s 17-14 win over South Carolina as the junior defensive tackle was all over the field for the Vols.
You’ve just got to go out there, just like the coaches have said, with attitude and get in on every play, Henderson said after the win. That’s what we try to do and I try to keep that in mind.
Henderson’s mind must have been full against the Gamecocks. Although he only racked up six tackles on the evening, three of them were for a loss. Also part of Henderson’s performance were two quarterback sacks for minus-16 yards.
It was exciting to see the defense play so well, head coach Phillip Fulmer said. We gave up so many passing plays, but that’s a compliment to the USC receivers and quarterback.
Carolina usually relies on their strong running attack of sophomores Derek Watson and Andrew Pinnock. However, both backs were kept in check by the Tennessee defense and Carolina was forced to break out their passing game.
Watson was nowhere to be found against the Tennessee front line as he carried the ball 11 times for a mere 5 yards.
We wanted to stop the run, Henderson said. We knew they were going to come out there and try to run with a little passing. We just had to get a little pressure on them, and I think we did a good job of that.
The Gamecocks were forced to ride the shoulders of the 6-foot, 245-pound Pinnock. Pinnock rushed 10 times for 58 yards as he powered through holes in the UT defense early in the game.
(Pinnock) was a big runner and a more powerful runner, Henderson said. He got it between the creases a little bit. We had to get it together on the sidelines and stop him.
Once USC turned to the passing game, the Gamecocks completed several passes against the Volunteer secondary. But after some adjustments, Henderson helped the defense shift into high gear as Carolina quarterback Phil Petty was sacked a total of five times for a loss of 31 yards.
The Gamecocks were also forced to punt the ball six times during the game due to the defensive pressure of the Volunteers.
Both defenses played tough, but it was Tennessee who held their ground in the fourth quarter to give UT a last shot to win the game.
We just wanted to give our offense a chance and that’s what we did we gave them a chance to score, Henderson said. We came out and we just wanted to get it done.
The Vol defense dug deep in the trenches during the fourth quarter and held South Carolina to nine plays for 15 yards.
USC’s first drive in the fourth lasted 25 seconds spanning three plays for 2 yards and resulted in a punt. Their second drive went three plays for 3 yards and their final drive to end the game was three plays for 10 yards.
We got our minds right in the fourth quarter, Henderson said. We said we had to stop them. We thought they were going to come out there and run it so we had to get more pressure on them. We came out with a victory.
