Tennessee Football: Safety Evan Berry Joins Brother Eric as a UT All-American

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Tennessee football safety Evan Berry matched his brother Eric Berry’s legacy with the Vols by becoming a 2015 Walter Camp All-American as a kick returner.


When James Berry was making a name for himself as a Tennessee Volunteers legend from 1978 to 1981, he had no way of knowing the long-lasting legacy he would leave.

Nearly 40 years later, two of his sons are now Tennessee football All-Americans.

After Eric Berry was a back-to-back All-American in 2008 and 2009 as a safety while also winning the Thorpe award in 2009, his younger brother Evan has followed that up in 2015 with an All-American Award as a return specialist.

Berry was named to the 2015 Walter Camp All-American Football team.

The brothers now have the accomplishments of both being Freshmen All-Americans and then actual All-Americans. Their father has got to be proud.

Evan Berry spent the year as a backup safety who saw a lot of action, but as a return specialist he was deadly. The sophomore made First-Team All-SEC, was SEC returner of the year, and now is officially an All-American.

He just might be the best returner in Tennessee history, and the best part is he has got two years left to play.

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For the season, Berry had three kicks returned for touchdowns, and he also had 21 kickoff returns overall for a total of 804 yards, averaging 38.3 yards per return.

To his credit, Berry did a solid job as a defensive player as well. He was not developed enough yet to be able to be thrown into the fire at safety, but he had to see much more action there than John Jancek probably prepared for due to injuries.

That may have resulted in him struggling a bit back there at some points. But his performance as a returner more than makes up for that.

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Butch Jones has spent his coaching career emphasizing special teams and what it brings to the table. There was no greater example of that than Evan Berry.

Congratulations to another Tennessee Vols All-American.