It wasn't exactly a shock Eric Berry made the SEC coaches' All-Freshman Team released on Thursday.
The surprise came in the fact Berry wasn't a unanimous selection.
Tennessee's first-year defensive back was joined by teammates Daniel Lincoln and Denarius Moore on the eighth annual coaches' team.
Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno, LSU wide receiver Terrance Toliver and Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain were the only unanimous selections.
All Berry did was lead SEC freshmen in tackles with 83 and intercept five passes, one of those coming against LSU in this past week's SEC championship game.
He set a school record with 222 return yards on interceptions, second best in SEC history. Berry, a Fairburn, Ga., native, also returned two fumbles for 55 yards.
Lincoln was another virtual lock for the team after he hit 21 of 28 field goals. He had game-winning kicks against South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Ocala, Fla., native also connected on four field goals in a victory at Mississippi State.
Moore, a Tatum, Texas native, joined LSU's Toliver at wide receiver on the team. Moore had 10 catches for 126 yards and played in all 13 games for the Vols.
Auburn led the way with six players named to the team. Arkansas and Florida had four apiece, while Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and LSU had three each.
Georgia's Moreno was selected SEC freshman of the year after rushing for 1,273 yards and 12 TDs for the Bulldogs. His 106.1 yards per game rushing was second only to Heisman Trophy candidate Darren McFadden of Arkansas (1,725 yards and 15 TDs).
Terry Grant of Alabama was the other honoree at running back. Wesley Carroll of Mississippi State was the pick at quarterback.
Coaches could not vote for their own players.
2007 FRESHMAN ALL-SEC FOOTBALL TEAM
(*-Ties / #-Unanimous Selection / Coaches could not vote for their own players)
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
OFFENSE
TE D.J. Williams Arkansas 6-2 250 Little Rock, Ark.
OL Ryan Pugh Auburn 6-4 282 Hoover, Ala.
OL Trinton Sturdivant Georgia 6-5 293 Wadesboro, N.C.
OL Lee Ziemba Auburn 6-8 297 Rogers, Ark.
OL *Clint Boling Georgia 6-5 290 Alpharetta, Ga.
OL *Maurkice Pouncey Florida 6-4 311 Lakeland, Fla.
OL *Chaz Ramsey Auburn 6-4 284 Madison, Miss.
WR # Terrance Toliver LSU 6-5 190 Hempstead, Texas
WR Denarius Moore Tennessee 6-1 285 Tatum, Texas
QB Wesley Carroll Mississippi State 6-3 190 Parkland, Fla.
RB # Knowshon Moreno Georgia 5-11 207 Belford, N.J.
RB Terry Grant Alabama 5-9 184 Lumberton, Miss.
DEFENSE
DL Ladi Ajiboye South Carolina 6-1 291 Greenville, S.C.
DL Damario Ambrose Arkansas 6-5 245 Mobile, Ala.
DL Antoine Carter Auburn 6-4 226 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
LB # Rolando McClain Alabama 6-4 255 Decatur, Ala.
LB Freddy Burton Arkansas 6-2 202 Morrilton, Ark.
LB Cliff Matthews South Carolina 6-4 239 Cheraw, S.C.
LB A.J. Jones Florida 6-1 211 Tampa, Fla.
DB Eric Berry Tennessee 5-11 195 Fairburn, Ga.
DB Joe Haden Florida 5-11 181 Ft. Washington, Md.
DB Major Wright Florida 6-1 204 Miramar, Fla.
DB *Zac Etheridge Auburn 5-11 200 Troy, Ala.
DB *Kareem Jackson Alabama 5-11 185 Macon, Ga.
DB *Chad Jones LSU 6-3 218 Baton Rouge, La.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK *Daniel Lincoln Tennessee 6-4 204 Ocala, Fla.
PK *Alex Tejada Arkansas 6-1 202 Springdale, Ark.
P Ryan Shoemaker Auburn 6-0 188 Birmingham, Ala.
RS Chad Jones LSU 6-3 218 Baton Rouge, La.
Phillip Fulmer through the years
Barbara Dooley and Pat Summitt Go Red…
Tyler Summitt through the years
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 34
scvols writes:
Another sign that our coaches knows a player when they see him. Let find 3 or 4 more in this year's class. Go VOLS!
DenverVol writes:
Betcha "No Chin" from the Gators was the only coach that didn't vote for Berry. When that guy (Meyer) played football, how did he keep his helmet on? Don't you need a chin to strap a chinstrap across? GO VOLS!
debaser11 writes:
Unfortunately, no Vol linemen (O or D) to talk about!
texan writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
99gator writes:
ok
first of all, why are you all assuming it was meyer who voted that way. knowing meyer, he handed the ballot to an athletic trainer to fill out and has no idea who was selected for what. if you know the guy, he doesn't care about this stuff which is why he will never be a voter in the coaches' poll.
secondly, a lot of these guys get named to the team on the strength of the fact they start for their teams... not whether they are good or not. how many freshman start?
gohawks1 writes:
Richt probably didn't vote for Berry because he was from Georgia but signed with TN.
gohawks1 writes:
And Spurrier probably didn't vote for him either because, well, he's Spurrier.
CoverOrange writes:
I'm thinking it is more likely someone we didn't play. Like who ever it was that did Ole Miss's ballot (would Orgeron even though he was no longer the coach? or the AD?) If an AD, more likely they didn't know what they were voting about.
Speaking of "no chin", who is that guy that shadows Phil at every game? He makes Fulmer look slim.
skinalive#242458 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Oenoboy writes:
Easy there 99gator. Only one person said it was Meyer, not "you all". Berry started every game this season and he is a true freshman.
Regardless of who it was that did not vote for him, they either did so out of spite or they are a complete idiot. If you look at the stats, there is only one freshman in the SEC that had as much or more of an impact than Berry and that was Moreno.
dfreeman writes:
I agree that Berry not being unanimous wasn't because he got lost in the voting! This kid had his name thrown all around the conference!! Is there a way to find out who voted for who?? I bet it was richt because he lost an intown 5 star recruit to us. Maybe Saban, because the Tide just hate us anyway!
Hunter writes:
Denarius Moore? Did I miss something? I mean he's a nice player, he'll be good for us, but did I miss some really big plays or was there no one else to vote for?
I am NOT being "that guy," just curious....
hdhurst writes:
You know, the best thing about this whole thing is that I really don't think Berry cares if he got unanimous or not. He has already shown us he is man enough to take care of his business and let everyone else do the talking. GO VOLS!
BillVol writes:
Say what you want about Spurrier, but he is fair and wouldn't do this. I don't think Richt would either. I'm laying it on Meyer.
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
something never mentioned.....
Thank-You PRIDE OF THE SOUTHLAND BAND
you people are wonderful and such a proud tradition of the University of Tennessee, again all of you are wonderful and thank you
dowdpat#654244 writes:
Hunter I agree. Moore was OK but All Sec Freshman not sure about that. If anything Gerald Jones was our best freshmen receiver this year even if he was hampered by an injury half the year.
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
jones looks great, did i mention the band?
SportsDoppler writes:
Berry did NOT start all of Tennessee's games. The coaches started "throw it my way for big" Gaines over Berry against California.
Berry was a 5* recruit, meaning Bobby Bowden's Grandpa world have found him and recruited him like the great Fulmer.
bigbluevol writes:
SportsDoppler, you're wrong. Berry did start all of the games. We came out in nickel against Cal and he was the 5th d-back. He then started against USM at safety over Parrish, corner against UF because Gaines got hurt against USM and then back to safety because Parrish was just too slow and they inserted Willingham at corner.
Basketball_Jones writes:
WHY DOES IT MATTER IF IT WAS UNANIMOUS OR NOT???? Berry is a very goo player who will soon be great. ESPN the other day had him as one of the Top 5 freshman in the country who had the biggest imact, along with Knowshon, Sam Bradford, the receiver from Texas Tech, and some other guy. I hope Berry turns into a coach on and off the field to help some of these guys cause we know Slades track record, most players get worse under him. Congrats to all the Frosh-Vols
BrewerTL writes:
I think GW did away with the Freedom of Information Act.....
invisiblekid writes:
Well, he gets my vote and that's all that really matters J/K.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Meyer or Spurrier. Spurrier would definitely do phooey like this. He voted Duke in the top 25 only because he coached there once. After losing to LSU, was not gracious and sportsmanlike at all but whined about cheating and bad calls until Miles called his bluff asking for specifics and then Spurrier backed down like the cowardly slinking jackal that he is.
cnalumni writes:
We all know Berry is a great player. who cares if someone voted against him. I am sure it wasnt personal. There is not doubt berry was one of the best freshmen in SEC this year. I do think Moreno is deserving of the freshman of the year, but berry was right behind him.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Watch out for Auburn. Tuberville is something else. Wish he were a hillbilly.
madisonvillevol writes:
did espn sponsor this vote?
99gator writes:
sphs_vol
there is no one that may hate georgia more than me. but comparing any, and i mean, ANY, player to herschel walker is almost blasphemous (sp?)
herschel walker is the greatest college football player of all time. herschel walker may be the only college football player who was the best player in the country every year he was in school.
i've got nothing against this berry kid, but, please ease up on the herschel walker comparisons. besides that fact that based on position it is an apples to oranges comparison.... there will never be another herschel walker.
but beyond that.... ease up with the praise a little. he looks like tenn found a gem. he looks like a possible future all american. but, he's not a shut down corner just yet. he may develop into that.... but he's not champ bailey or deion sanders right now.
aj_vol#248433 writes:
maybe a better comparison would have been Carl Pickens
He played in the secondary the final 6 or 7 games of his freshman year (1989) and had 1 interception every game he played defense including the Cotton Bowl win vs Arkansas
PumpUptheVOLume writes:
sphs_vol...You're right. Berry should have made 1st team All SEC... HANDS DOWN.... Living in Atlanta, there are supporters of various other teams and conferences.... Everyone of them always walk up to me on Mondays and say two words -- ERIC BERRY.. Not because he's a FRESHMEN, but more for being a "FOOTBALL PLAYER"
GO VOLS!!!!!!!
Southland writes:
jealous jerks are the culprits
ETownVol writes:
WD40.... I've always wondered who Fulmer's "shadow" is on the sideline, too. My wife & I always refer to him as "Radio".
murrayvol writes:
And this just in: Berry voted to the Sporting News Freshman All America team. Let it go guys. Before he's through Mr. Berry will have more post season awards crowding his shelf than you can shake a stick at.
THE_VOL writes:
WHY DOES IT MATTER WHO DIDN'T VOTE FOR BERRY??? This is typical Tennessee paranoia about irrelevent phooey! What you SHOULD be doing is preparing for another 2005 debacle that is on the horizon!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Thanks Berry, you brought the effort and were usually in the neighborhood of the ball. You and Mayo shown on a 11th ranked defense (SEC) that was well.... a 11th ranked defense. That pick against the Gators saved a 66-13 immolation. Merry Christmas all.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.