Tennessee football has a sack celebration “committee.”
It’s not clear if there are appointed officers or minutes kept at meetings.
But members meet regularly to consider what dance the Vols will roll out when they take down an opposing quarterback.
“We come together as a unit, of course, a big committee,” defensive lineman Bryson Eason said Tuesday.
“Whoever has the silliest (celebration) that we laugh the most after they do it, that’s the one we choose.
We just want to have fun because we work so hard.”
No. 15 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) plays No. 8 Alabama (6-1, 4-0) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The Third Saturday in October rivalry should be entertainment enough, but the Vols’ pass rush could add a little more sizzle.
Last week, defensive end Tyler Baron sacked Texas A&M’s Max Johnson and debuted the latest dance.
He did some sort of a secret handshake with defensive end Joshua Josephs, and then every UT player in the vicinity raised their arms and swiveled their hips.
Baron and Eason, who was shaking his hips alongside them, said Josephs messed up the handshake. So will they try the same dance again versus Alabama or debut a new one?
“We don’t know yet,” Eason said. “We’ve still got a couple more practices. You’ll find out Saturday.”
First, the Vols will have to sack quarterback Jalen Milroe, and that’s not easy.
He may be Alabama’s most electric runner, and he also stands tall in the pocket against the pass rush.
Despite Milroe’s elusiveness, he and other Alabama quarterbacks have been sacked a lot. And the Vols want to add to that total.
UT’s defense averages four sacks per game, the fourth-most in the nation. Alabama’s offense allows 4.4 sacks per game, the fifth-most in the nation.
Milroe shrugged off a question about that matchup.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun,” said Milroe, who has been sacked 11 times in the past two games. “We don’t care about none of that.”
The Tide offensive line has underperformed compared to its preseason hype. But those linemen are still talented and enormous, with three starters weighing more than 350 pounds.
But some of the sacks have come because Milroe is willing to scramble to extend plays or take a hard hit in the pocket to deliver a pass.
According to Pro Football Focus, Milroe has thrown five TD passes while under pressure, which ranks fourth nationally.
His 446 yards passing and 13.9 yards-per-attempt under pressure rank eighth and 16th, respectively.
Milroe also leads Alabama with five TD runs. And he has rushed for 325 yards before negative yardage from sacks is deducted.
