Phil Steele's heartfelt apology for listing Derek Barnett as 3rd team All SEC

All class.

Derek Barnett oversight

"In the same sense, there were a few oversights for my All Conference teams, most notably Tennessee DE Derek Barnett being listed as 3rd Team SEC. Last year, Barnett made my final 2nd Team SEC last year as a true frosh and the other 1st Team SEC defensive linemen were gone, so he naturally should have made the jump to 1st Team. How did this oversight occur then? Well, when determining All-Conference teams, I rely on my individual player power ratings, which consider height, weight, speed, PS#, NFL scout evaluations and, of course, their stats for last year and for their career. Those numbers had Derek Barnett 1st team SEC. To select my All-American team, I speak to my NFL contacts, particularly Gil Brandt, with whom I spent hours going over each of the top players for the draft. Since Barnett is a true sophomore, he is not eligible for the draft, so his name did not come up in those conversations and he was not fresh in my mind."