Tennessee football: Vols top 30 players since 1998 national championship

It actually seems a bit weird putting Evan Berry on this list. After all, he suffered season-ending injuries in his final two years with Tennessee football. He never really saw regular action as a safety for the Vols either.

However, Berry’s play as a kickoff returner was indeed enough to put him on here. He’s easily the greatest returner in school history. What he did in the 2015 season alone is one of the most remarkable performances.

Reaching All-American status for it is enough for us to put Berry on this list. The guy was a freshman All-American in 2014 with lots of impressive kickoff returns. But in 2015, he returned three for touchdowns, which is an insane number.

In 2016, Berry followed that up with a great return to set up the Hail Mary against the Georgia Bulldogs and a touchdown again at the South Carolina Gamecocks. Even after suffering a season-ending injury, he did enough to make All-SEC again.

Being a three-time All-SEC player, a freshman All-American and a First-Team All-American is more than enough to make this list. Berry may not be his brother, but he has etched his name in the school history books with how valuable he was returning kickoffs. Butch Jones had a huge weapon in Berry, and we can’t forget that.

Like Arian Foster, Berry had a senior season to forget in 2017. But also like Arian Foster, he had already made his way into Vols lore with his special teams play. That’s why we were able to put him high up on this list anyway.