Tennessee football archrivals join Eric Berry, the best I ever saw on defense
The Kansas City Chiefs returning to the Super Bowl got me to thinking about Eric Berry.
It would be a stretch to say he might still be playing – a 13th season – but not out of the question for an athlete of Berry’s stature.
Of course, his NFL career with the Chiefs was curtailed by cancer and injuries. He still made three Pro Bowls and was both Comeback Player of the Year in 2015 and a member of the NFL 2010s All Decades Team.
Another great honor was bestowed on Berry last month. He was announced in the 2023 class that will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame next winter.
That news wins my personal endorsement. He was the best Tennessee defensive player I’ve seen since I started covering the Vols in 1984.
In his three-year career at safety, 2007-09, he was simply spectacular. The headline stat is the 14 interceptions, which led to setting SEC records for single-season interception return yardage (265) and career interception return yardage (494).
Vol fans know all about Berry. What about his fellow Class of 23 members?
Six players and a couple of coaches went to battle with the Vols.
And then there’s Blount County native Roy Kramer, the former SEC commissioner who is going in the hall for his 11 years coaching at Central Michigan.
The most familiar – too familiar? – is Tim Tebow.
The Florida quarterback was 4-0 against Tennessee. He was the starter, beginning in 2007, his Heisman Trophy year.
But he made quite an introduction in 2006 as a freshman at Neyland Stadium. Late game, Tebow replaced starter Chris Leak on fourth-and-11 and rushed for the first down that set up the winning TD in a 21-20 Gator win.
Berry, by the way, intercepted Tebow twice, a 96-yard pick-six in 2007, and again in 2009.
LaMicheal James, a star tailback at Oregon, also had a moment in Neyland. When the Ducks visited in 2010, the Vols scrapped to a 13-13 halftime tie. James broke it with a 72-yard touchdown run that opened the floodgates for a 48-13 Oregon romp.
Versatile Terance Mathis operated out of the spotlight at New Mexico. He came to Neyland for the 1986 season opener. Five pass receptions, three rushes, three punt returns, but no big plays. Tennessee won 35-21.
Dwight Freeney was Syracuse’s version of Reggie White. The Vols played him twice. As a freshman in 1998, he wasn’t a big factor in what turned out to be a 34-33 Tennessee win in Syracuse that started the national championship run.
As a senior in Knoxville in 2001, however, Freeney gave the Vols O-line fits. He had two drive-killing sacks, several hurries and recovered a fumble at the UT 5-yard line. It didn’t derail a 33-9 Tennessee win.
Notre Dame linebacker Michael Stonebreaker was a force in one of the best games I ever saw in Neyland, the Irish’ 34-29 win in 1990. Stonebreaker recorded seven tackles, a sack and broke up a pass.
Then there is DeAngelo Williams, the Memphis tailback who made news by not playing against the Vols in 2005. After warming up, Williams decided his tender ankle wasn’t up to starting. So, to the chagrin of Memphis fans, he watched in uniform on the sidelines as the Vols won 20-16.
As Georgia’s coach, Mark Richt was 10-5 against Tennessee from 2001-2015. Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson lost his only game against the Vols, 42-41, in 2017.
It would be sweet to see Johnny Majors join Richt and Johnson in the hall one day. But that’s another story for another day.
Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football archrivals join Eric Berry in Hall of Fame
