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 Eric Berry is waiting on his chance to contribute on offense when he's not making plays as one of Tennessee's top defensive players. (T-G File Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo] |
The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder spent time time at both cornerback and safety before earning freshman All-America honors from several publications and second team All-SEC by both the writers and coaches.
There was some speculation prior to Berry's first year in Knoxville that he would see some time on the offensive side of the ball and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe seemed open to the idea. However, for one reason or another, the possibility never came to fruition.
With Cutcliffe off to Duke, new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson calling the plays, and Berry having a much better grasp of his role and assignments on defense, the idea of utilizing the playmaker's athletic ability with the ball in his hand is being revisited.
Berry admitted as much during UT Media Day at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
"I talked to coach Clawson today, he said was I ready to come over there, but I'm just going to focus on defense right now till he calls my number," said Berry, who showed ball skills as a freshman by setting a record at UT for interception return yards with 222 on five picks.
So, what does the secondary stalwart think he can bring to the table on the other side of the ball?
"I think dynamics," Berry said, "that big-play guy that can take it 60 or 70 or whatever ... 80, 90 even. We've got guys like that on this team on offense already. So, I mean, I don't know."
More and more teams are experimenting with using former high school quarterbacks like Berry and receiver Gerald Jones at quarterback depending on the down, distance and situation.
When asked about how it could work in Clawson's new scheme, wide receivers coach Latrell Scott was all smiles before admitting they haven't really gotten into the particulars just yet.
"We're not sure," said Scott, who came to Knoxville after coaching with Clawson at Richmond. "It's a good problem to have. It's a good situation to have athletes like that. We have thoughts and plans of using Eric on offense at a point, but Eric's a safety first.
"If we can find snaps for Eric on offense that will allow him to be effective for us on offense but still be our best defensive player, then we'll do it. We don't have a set plan for when we will do it, but Eric's one of our best defensive players and he belongs to those guys first."
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So.... Couldn't take the time to go to the Legion Tournament, but drove all the way to Knoxville for a story on a Vols Player that has no ties to Bedford Co.
I know we are in VOLS country and I'm all for them having a great season, but isn't the idea of a local paper to print stories of "local" interest first?
If you want to do these type of stories, that's fine. This one was very well written and Mr. Parker should be commended for a great story, but don't turn around and then say you don't have time to cover local sports.
How long does it take to drive to the schools in Bedford County? I'm sure that the kids in those schools would be happy to tell you how excited they are for their upcoming seasons and they can tell you what area of their game they worked on in the off season.
Once again, thank you for your time and support sameoldstory. We appreciate your coming to our site and reading our stories on a daily basis.
I think the paper dose a great job of covering the local schools... Mr. Parker keep up the good work and please pass along the same to your coworkers at the T-G.... On to the article... Berry is a shutdown corner with Top 10 NFL Draft Pick written all over him. Just to be saying... I think you do a great job covering both College and High School Footballthat is the reason why I buy the paper all together. If you have not gone to an MTSU game I invite you and everybody out there reading this to come to our season opener on Aug 28 at 6:30.. We play our big Rival Troy and this game could very well determine our chances at an overall SBC championship and a trip to the New Orleans Bowl!
I'm not picking on any particular person. This type of thing has been going on since the paper sold a few years back.
I think the writers on staff do the best job they can with what is given them. It's the powers that be at the newspaper that seem to want only big stories about UT or the Titans. It's clear they don't intend to put money into coverage of local interest.
And again, this was a well written sports piece. I know Tennessee has hope hopes for this kid. I just hope he is as good in front of 100,000 as he is on paper.
And I apologize to Danny Parker. This is a really good story, but I sometimes see "red" when I see too much ORANGE. Still havn't gotten over the fact that Whit Taylor really wanted to go to UT, but they would not give him a look. At least he was able to beat them and prove how wrong they were.
I would like to hear your opinion on UT's recruiting budget. The nation's highest? Maybe it's because UT thinks it can't find a good player unless the kid comes from California. UT seems to let some very good players slip through their hands from the Middle Tennessee area.