University of Tennessee Athletics
Berry Named SEC Defensive Player of the Week
October 20, 2008 | Football
Oct. 20, 2008
Safety Eric Berry has been named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week after breaking a nearly 60-year-old SEC record Saturday night with his 72-yard interception return for a touchdown in Tennessee's 34-3 win over Mississippi State. Berry's interception and runback put the Vols up 20-3 early in the fourth quarter.
Berry, the nation's leader in incepetions with five, recorded a season-high 10 tackles including his second career sack, and has intercepted a pass in each of the last three games.
Just a sophomore, Berry becomes the SEC career interception return leader with 397 yards on just 10 interceptions in his 21st career game. The yardage total breaks the previous mark of 379 set by Mississippi's Bobby Wilson from 1946-49. Florida State's Terrell Buckley (1989-91) holds the NCAA major college record for career interception return yards with 501.
Berry has returned five interceptions this season for 175 yards and a touchdown. His interception returns this season have gone for 0, 1, 48, 54 and now 72 (TD). The Vols lead the SEC with 14 interceptions as a team and are tied for the national lead.
Last season, Berry broke a 37-year-old Tennessee record with 222 return yards on five interceptions. His interception returns went for 96 (TD), 13, 37, 61 and 15. The previous school mark of 177 was set by Bobby Majors in 1970. Only Florida's Joe Brodsky in 1956 with 244 had more interception return yards by an SEC player in a season.
Against Georgia, Berry broke a 39-year-old Tennessee record for career interception return yards with his 54-yard return. The previous school mark of 305 was held jointly by Mike Jones (1967-69) and Tim Priest (1968-70).
There's more to Vols' Berry than interceptions
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer has a point of reference for just how good safety Eric Berry is.
"When you put him in the category of players here at other positions, he's in the Peyton Manning or Jamal Lewis type of category," Fulmer said.
Like the great Vols quarterback and tailback, Berry's name is now in the Southeastern Conference record book. With a 72-yard interception return against Mississippi State, he broke a 59-year-old record to become the league's career interception return leader with 397 yards.
And he's just a sophomore.
At the rate he picks off opposing quarterbacks, there's little doubt Berry will have a shot at the NCAA record of 501 yards, set by Florida State's Terrell Buckley from 1989 to 1991.
Berry leads the nation with five interceptions in seven games this season and is averaging 35.6 yards per return. He's had 10 picks in 21 career games, but his talent reaches far beyond intercepting passes.
In the Vols' 34-3 win over Mississippi State, he was also the team's leading tackler with 10, including a sack. That earned him the SEC defensive player of the week award.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Berry hits hard, and his game highlights often get circulated on YouTube. A hit on Florida quarterback Tim Tebow could be heard in the upper rows of the 102,038-capacity Neyland Stadium, and a similar one on Georgia's Knowshon Moreno knocked the tailback out of the game for a few plays.
"Anything could happen, you know," Berry said of his hard hits. "We could have gotten a fumble, returned it for a touchdown, gotten an onside kick. You never know where that play is going to come from. I just attempt to play the game 110 percent."
A former quarterback at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga., Berry was rated the No. 3 recruit by Rivals.com in 2007 and recruited by Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State and USC.
Though he was signed as a defensive back, Fulmer has been asked repeatedly when fans will get to see Berry make a cameo on offense. Tennessee has an offensive package designed around him, rumored to be named the "Wildberry."
The plays are similar to wide receiver Gerald Jones' "G-gun" package, where Jones lines up at center and usually runs or hands off the ball.
With Jones sidelined by a high ankle sprain, there's a strong possibility of Berry making his debut returning kickoffs or punts when Tennessee (3-4, 1-3 SEC) faces No. 2 Alabama (7-0, 4-0) on Saturday night.
"Anyway we can get him involved we need to get him involved," Fulmer said. "The problem is time. With someone particularly like Alabama, it's hard to take him off the defensive side for long."
It was Berry's play on the field that earned him the unusual distinction of starting his first game as a true freshman. It was his attitude on the practice field and away from football that earned him the rare honor of being named team captain as a sophomore.
His dad, James Berry, was a three-year starting running back for the Vols and was named captain as a senior in 1981.
Despite the pile of accolades Berry's already accumulated, he doesn't have the ego to match.
In a Mississippi State post-game interview, he said he was glad to have a touchdown to add to his collection this season but wanted to acknowledge the defensive line for getting pressure on the quarterback, Ellix Wilson for tipping the ball into his hands and Rico McCoy for nailing a block that allowed him to make it to the end zone.
Forget the fact that Berry ran really fast and managed to regain his balance after being tripped up.
"It tells you something," Tennessee secondary coach Larry Slade said. "It speaks volumes, not just about him as a player but the kind of person he is."
