Most people believe that Eric Berry is the 2nd best player entering the 2010 NFL Draft; some even believe that he is the top rated player in the Nation. Even though the consensus has been both of those two scenarios, a lot of folks think that he won't be drafted any higher than the 5th overall pick because of the position he plays. There has been a lot of debate regarding where and who Eric Berry will be selected by. Some of the kind people here at Niners Nation have even mentioned trading up to get this potentially great future NFL player.
Berry has been nominated for several awards though out his collegiate career. The Junior classman announced that he would skip his Senior year and enter the 2010 NFL Draft the night after the 2009 Chik-Fil-A Bowl which Berry played in.
A lot of comparison's have been drawn to other players that are currently playing in the NFL or have played in the NFL in years past. The most notable comparison has been made to Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens. Berry has the opportunity with his gift of athleticism and natural instinct for the game to be one of the best of his time. Some people have speculated that he has more ability than Reed did when he entered as a rookie in 2002. When you can build a reputation of being both a ball-hawk and a hard-hitter in the same sentence, then you must be doing a lot right. Personally, I am very excited to see Berry in action next year no matter what team decides to scoop him up.
Below, we will take a look back at the stats, awards, and highlights that Berry has earned through his career at Tennessee.
As you can see in the video, Berry has the ability to sniff the ball out like a blood hound no matter where he is at on the field. He has uncanny awareness and reads quarterbacks as easily as a college graduate can read Dr. Seuss. The highlights here don't nearly scratch the surface as to what else Berry is capable of. I think that the ceiling is very high for Berry and it is scary how much more potential he has.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2009 Unanimous All-American
- 2009 Jim Thorpe Award
- 2009 Bronco Nagurski Award Finalist
- 2009 Lott Award Finalist
- 2009 Jack Tatum Award
- 2009 First team All-SEC
- 2008 Unanimous All-American
- 2008 National Defensive Sophomore of the Year
- 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year
- 2008 Jack tatum Award
- 2008 First Team All-SEC
- 2008 Vince Dooley Award
- 2008 Jim Thorpe Award Finalist
- 2007 First Team Freshman All-American
- 2007 National Defensive Freshman of the Year
- 2007 SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year
- 2007 Second Team All-SEC
- 2007 All-SEC Freshman Team
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2007 All-SEC Academic Honor Roll
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||
| YEAR | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2007 | 86 | 52 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 222 | 44.4 | 96 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 72 | 44 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 265 | 37.9 | 72 | 2 | 0 |
| 2009 | 83 | 54 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| 9/5 | Western Kentucky | W 63-7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/12 | UCLA | L 19-15 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | @Florida | L 23-13 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/26 | Ohio | W 34-23 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Auburn | L 26-22 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10/10 | Georgia | W 45-19 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10/24 | @Alabama | L 12-10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10/31 | South Carolina | W 31-13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Memphis | W 56-28 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | @Mississippi | L 42-17 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/21 | Vanderbilt | W 31-16 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/28 | @Kentucky | W 30-24 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Tackles | Misc | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | STF | STFY | FF | BK | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD |
| Chick-fil-A BOWL | Virginia Tech | L 37-14 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
NOTE: Berry recorded 3 Tackles in a 37-14 loss to the Virginia Tech Hoakies in the Chik-Fil-A Bowl.
SUMMARY AND PROJECTIONS:
Being that Berry is one of the top college football players in the Nation, I think it is safe to say he is going to be drafted very high. It is my personal opinion that he will not fall outside of the top 5. Some people speculate different but I just think he is too good of a player to pass up. With most of the teams trying to get their franchises on track, Berry would be a step in the right direction for any team not doing so well. Berry has been the best player the Vols have seen since the departure of future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. He's 5'11" 203 LBS.
Possibilities -- Lions, Bucs, Redskins, Chiefs, or ((wildcard)) Browns or another team trading up.
Here is the link to past 100 in 100 stories: