Nov 10, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; A general view as the Tennessee Volunteers enter the field prior to the game against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium. Missouri defeated Tennessee 51-48 in quadruple overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

After months of speculation, Derek Barnett has unofficially made it official, as he committed to the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday night.

I have committed to the University of Tennessee !! Thank you God for this opportunity — Derek Barnett (@dbarnett25) October 9, 2013

Of course nothing will be official until signing day in February, but it’s a good bet that Barnett will be faxing his national letter of intent to Tennessee on that day.

Barnett is a 6’3″‘/265 lb defensive end from Brentwood, TN (Brentwood). He’s the second player to commit to the Vols in the past two days. (OL Dontavius Blair is the other)

The four-star defensive end also held offers from Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU and Ohio State, among several others.

Butch Jones and the Volunteers acknowledged on Wednesday night that they had added yet another brick to their already solid foundation. Jones of course can’t comment publicly about any commit until they’ve signed their letter of intent.

Barnett is a huge pick-up for the Vols. They need all the help they can get along their defensive line.

The Vols’ 2014 class is currently fourth in 247Sports team rankings.