Tennessee Vols great Eric Berry elected to College Football Hall of Fame
Eric Berry, one of the greatest defenders in Tennessee Vols history, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
On Monday, Berry was named as part of the 2023 class by the National Football Foundation. He will be inducted in December.
The class features four coaches and 18 players, including Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Southern Cal running back Reggie Bush and Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams.
Berry was the 2009 Jim Thorpe Award winner, 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-American. He is regarded, at least, as Tennessee's best defensive player of the 2000s.
Berry played three seasons for the Vols (2007-09), recording 245 tackles, 17½ tackles-for-loss, 14 interceptions and 31 passes defended. He led the nation with seven interceptions in 2008 and holds the SEC single-season (265 yards) and career (494 yards) records for interception return yards.
"Eric earned his way into the Hall of Fame by his great ability to run, tackle, play the ball and return an interception, but even more so because of his character, work ethic, and love of the University of Tennessee and his teammates," said Phillip Fulmer, a 2012 inductee who coached Berry at Tennessee.
"Eric was the only player I had that started the first collegiate game of his career. He learned quickly, set a great attitude in the locker room and on the practice field. He was quiet and confident and let his actions speak for himself."
After Tennessee, Berry had a standout NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs despite battling cancer. He was a three-time All-Pro, member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and the 2015 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Berry will be the 22nd Tennessee player in the College Football Hall of Fame. Linebacker Al Wilson, a 2021 inductee, was the last member.
Tennessee wide receivers Willie Gault and Larry Seivers and Vols coach Josh Heupel were also on the hall of fame ballot, but they didn’t make the cut. Heupel was a star quarterback at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to the 2000 national title as the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Tennessee Vols in College Football Hall of Fame
1954 Gene McEver
1955 Beattie Feathers
1956 Robert R. Neyland (coach)
1959 Herman Hickman
1959 Bobby Dodd
1961 Bob Suffridge
1967 Nathan Dougherty
1969 George Cafego
1972 Bowden Wyatt
1981 Hank Lauricella
1985 Doug Atkins
1987 Johnny Majors
1989 Bob Johnson
1990 Ed Molinski
1993 Steve DeLong
1993 Bobby Dodd (as Georgia Tech coach)
1996 John Michels
1997 Bowden Wyatt (coach)
1999 Steve Kiner
2002 Reggie White
2003 Doug Dickey (coach)
2004 Frank Emanuel
2006 Chip Kell
2012 Phillip Fulmer (coach)
2017 Peyton Manning
2021 Al Wilson
2023 Eric Berry
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee Vols great Eric Berry elected to College Football Hall of Fame
