Defensive lineman Curt Maggitt is focusing on two goals toward the end of the Vols' season.SACK SHORTAGETennessee registered its highest single-season sack total with 50 in 2000, when John Henderson had 12 by himself to take over third place on the Vols' single-season sacks chart. From 1994 to 2005, the Vols had at least 28 sacks every season. In the past three years, though, the Vols had just 51 sacks. The Vols enter the final three games -- four if there's a bowl game -- with 24 sacks, the most since 2010. Here are Tennessee's season-by-season sacks totals, along with the season leader, since 2000.2013: 18 (Corey Miller, 4.5)2012: 17 (Darrington Sentimore, 4)2011: 16 (Malik Jackson, 2.5)2010: 26 (Malik Jackson, 5)2009: 21 (Chris Walker, 6)2008: 23 (Nevin McKenzie, 5)2007: 24 (Robert Ayers, 4)2006: 17 (Jerod Mayo, 5)2005: 33 (Parys Haralson, 8.5)2004: 33 (Parys Haralson, 7)2003: 28 (Kevin Simon and Parys Haralson, 4.5)2002: 29 (Keyon Whiteside, 5)2001: 34 (Will Overstreet, 5)
KNOXVILLE - Curt Maggitt had one individual goal in mind, though it's taken a back seat to the overarching objective.
The Tennessee defensive end/linebacker wanted to reach double-digit sacks in his first season back after missing 2013 coming off a knee injury, but more importantly, Maggitt wanted to help the Volunteers end their three-season bowl drought.
Both are out there for the taking as Tennessee comes off an open date and enters the final three-week stretch of the season, which begins with Kentucky's visit on Saturday.
"My goal this year was just to service the team," Maggitt said last week. "I'm really playing for my guy, A.J. (Johnson), doing whatever it takes, really. If I'm at 'backer, eating up blocks so he can make the plays. If I'm at end, try to get some pressure on the quarterback for the DBs.
"I just go out there and do the best I can. It's all I can do."
The Vols need to win two of their final three to clinch the program's first postseason trip since 2010, when Maggitt was a senior at Dwyer High School outside of West Palm Beach in Florida.
In his comeback season, the versatile 6-foot-3, 251-pound former four-star recruit has made the kind of impacted he and the Vols hoped he would, racking up 32 tackles with nine for loss and six sacks. Maggitt is seventh on the team in tackles and second, behind freshman Derek Barnett, in tackles for loss and sacks.
During injury-riddled seasons in 2011 and 2012, Maggitt had 86 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks before missing last season, Tennessee's first under coach Butch Jones and his staff, after he tore his ACL against Missouri late in 2012.
"Last year he meant so much the team, but he didn't play, so you didn't really know in reality what you had," defensive line coach Steve Stripling said. "You kind of hoped. He has been a plus because his energy level, his leadership, and coming into our room it's really helped our group, too.
"He and Jordan (Williams) are the older guys, and they are upbeat, personal, fired-up guys every day. That just leads the way for the younger guys, because it's a grind as a D-lineman, man. But when you've got guys like that it's really been a plus."
Almost exclusively a linebacker earlier in his career, Maggitt is splitting time between linebacker and defensive end this season. Where he plays depends on the defensive package, which hinges on the opponent and the situation. Against spread offenses and in passing situations, he's at end, while he plays outside linebacker in the Vols' 4-3 looks.
You have to be versatile and smart to handle two positions, but Maggitt seems to be doing it well.
"He's doing a lot," linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said. "In certain situations, it's a two-linebacker scheme, so he goes in as one of our better pass rushers. In other situations, he's a Sam linebacker, and he comes in and he's big and strong at the point of attack. He does a really good job of block destruction.
"He's a really good kid in the room, because for a guy that's not in our room 100 percent of the time -- he's probably in there about 40 percent of the time -- he's able to pick up those concepts really fast."
Maggitt made his biggest play, while earning some self-redemption, of the season last week against South Carolina.
After recording his first sack of the game in the fourth quarter, he went off the field to get his ankle taped, and a miscommunication on the sideline led to Tennessee having only 10 players on the field for Brandon Wilds's 70-yard touchdown run.
On the first play of overtime, though, Maggitt got an outstanding jump on the snap, sped around the right tackle and got into the backfield in a flash to drop South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson for a 9-yard loss.
Maggitt also had two sacks against Georgia and one each against Florida and Alabama.
"I already knew he was going to have success, just by knowing him and working off of him in the offseason and spring ball and him getting his body back healthy and stuff," said Johnson, Tennessee's defensive leader and Maggitt's closest friend.
"He had a huge play for us in the game this past week. He got off that ball so fast. Everyone else was frozen while he was in his motion and running. He's a dynamic player, and he's going to make plays."
To accomplish his goal and get Tennessee to six wins, Maggitt will need to make a few more.
"It'd be cool to get double-digit sacks, but this season, I haven't looked at my stats or anything," he said. "I'm just playing for the team. We've got to get this bowl game."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.