UT's Berry dealing with the hype

Tennessee strong safety Eric Berry takes a second to pose with the Heisman Trophy during SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

During SEC Media Days, Tennessee's dynamic defensive back roamed from Radio Row to TV show tapings to the Print/Media Room at The Wynfrey Hotel as though he was hunting for a wide receiver to lay out.

In order to declare their strong safety's candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, Tennessee launched the website berry4heisman.com.

Some speculate that it will be extremely tough no matter how Berry plays this season for him to even earn a seat in the front row of the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City for the Heisman presentation.

Will he play some snaps on offense or get heavily involved in the return game?

"You'll probably have to ask coach," said Berry, who rushed for 37 yards on seven carries last season. "I think I'll be back there a little bit. It depends on how quickly I can get the defense over there, how quickly I can grasp it. It's all on them and what they want to do."

A shoulder injury and his importance on defense didn't allow him to get the ball in his hands in '08 until October.

Whether the former high school quarterback sees time on offense or not, the intrigue exists: "I would love to do that. Who wouldn't want to do that? Lineman want to carry the ball at least once."

Coach Lane Kiffin won't head back to the experiment table with Berry at QB just yet.

"You put him over there in the offense, he loses all that practice time at defense, you're over there trying to run some stuff with him at quarterback ... No. 1: that's not fair to him; No. 2: you're not developing your other guys," Kiffin said.

"This isn't just about today. We have to look for our future. We need to develop our other players at the positions they're supposed to be at. You hinder his development at defense, which is not fair to him, and you hinder the development of our offense as well."

While most of the questions surrounding practice this summer have been on the offense, a hole still remains at free safety next to Berry with the departure of Demetrice Morley.

Berry scoffed at the notion that having someone green at his side could be a hindrance, citing Prentiss Waggner and Janzen Jackson as candidates who are SEC-ready. Another member of the secondary Berry dubbed a "sleeper" is cornerback Art Evans.

Berry won't have Demetrice Morley (7) at his side in the secondary this season. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Berry will pay the bills one day with his work on the defensive side of the ball. There's no doubting that. While it's almost a foregone conclusion that he'll depart early, Berry's parents being jobless make it that much easier.

Eric's mother Carol has been out of work for a year and father James Berry was laid off in February from the Owens Corning plant back in Fairburn, Ga., in February.

Needless to say, the troubling economy knows no bounds.

If things changed economically in the Berry household, would Eric consider returning for his senior season?

"Probably so," he said.

Either way, the National Football League will be waiting on Berry. With his talent, experience and production, he's a sure-fire top five pick whenever he comes out.

The reigning SEC defensive player of the year's statistics speak for themselves: 158 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, three fumble recoveries, 22 pass deflections and 12 interceptions.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current UT defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin has filtered through countless hours of tape this offseason and is excited about using Berry in different ways.

"To have Eric, a guy that could come down and play nickel as well as be a safety, I think NFL teams are going to fall in love with him," said Lane Kiffin, who was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders this time last year.