Tennessee football’s Tyre West is the Co-SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his strong play in the Vols’ 41-34 overtime win at Mississippi State. West split the honor with South Carolina edge rusher Bryan Thomas Jr.
West turned in the best performance of his career at Mississippi State, totaling three tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and an additional quarterback pressure in the win. The senior defensive end made the play of the game early in the fourth quarter, drilling Bulldogs’ quarterback Blake Shapen and knocking the ball free in the process.
Josh Josephs was there to scoop the ball up and run 41 yards into the end zone untouched for a go-ahead touchdown that completely flipped the momentum of the game.
TYRE WEST WITH THE HIT.
JOSHUA JOSEPHS WITH THE SCOOP AND SCORE.
VOLS RETAKE THE LEAD! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/owVjw0vlvJ
— FOX Sports Knoxville (@FOXSportsKnox) September 27, 2025
The senior West is off to a fantastic start to his senior season. He played only sparingly against Syracuse and missed the UAB game with an injury. But in two SEC games, West has combined to record 10 tackles, two sacks and six quarterback pressures.
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West is tied with Josephs and Caleb Herring for a team-high three sacks through the first five games of the 2025 season.
“Tyre’s just, you talk about a young guy from day one until now, how he’s grown,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said following the game. “He’s a man and he’s a competitor. Understanding our defense, playing with relentless effort and playing with great technique too. He’s played on the edge, played some inside. Just done a great job. Great job here and you talked about him playing his best football. There’s no doubt that the last few weeks he’s been playing his best football.”
South Carolina’s Bryan Thomas Jr. recorded two sacks, an additional quarterback pressure and seven total tackles in the Gamecocks’ 35-13 win over Kentucky.
