All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football roster: Projecting the Vols’ 2017 2-deep depth chart

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium at halftime during the game between Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium at halftime during the game between Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
21 of 22
Next
Oct 29, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Evan Berry (29) returns a kickoff for a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Evan Berry (29) returns a kickoff for a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /

Kickoff Returners

1. Evan Berry

He needs to recover from injury, but Evan Berry is already the greatest kickoff returner in Tennessee football history. With 49 returns for a total of 1,677 yards, he’s averaged over 34 yards a kick return for his career.

Oh, and he has four touchdowns.

Last year, Berry had a kick return for a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks, and he also had a key kick return to set up the Vols’ Hail Mary touchdown pass to beat the Georgia Bulldogs.

Although Berry is not going to be a starter at safety, he is looking to regain his All-American form as a kick return specialist and once again be a huge weapon for the Vols at this position. Last year was a bit of a drop-off from 2015, but that could be because teams were kicking away from him.

So he’s still a major factor who strikes fear in the heart of the opponents. And he’ll once again be the No. 1 returner as a senior.

2. Tyler Byrd

Just behind Evan Berry, Tyler Byrd made a name for himself as a kickoff returner this past year. The 6’0″ 195-pound junior is going to be the backup slot receiver this year who could compete for the starting job thanks to his speed. Last year, he had 10 kick returns for 263 yards and also had a 67-yard return at one point.

Butch Jones will definitely use him once again at times to spell Berry, and if Berry gets hurt again, Byrd can definitely fill in.

Home/Vols Football