Berry got a rude awakening on first snap

For Eric Berry, the realization came quickly. Certainly quicker than it does for most college players.

Playing cornerback in Tennessee's nickel package on the Vols' first defensive snap of the season and the first snap of his collegiate career, Berry blitzed off the edge, ready to put Cal quarterback Nate Longshore on his backside.

What he got was a healthy dose of offensive tackle, and an up-close introduction to the turf at California's Memorial Stadium.

"I think the tackle almost broke my jaw," Berry says of the play. "When I came, he blocked me and kind of like mushed me to the ground. I was like, 'Man, I need to wake up. This isn't high school anymore.' "

For Tennessee's most-hyped recruit from this year's consensus top-five class, it's been a season full of adjustments. And the season is only four games old.

He's started twice at cornerback and twice at safety, the position he played so well at Creekside (Ga.) High School southeast of Atlanta that he was named the top cornerback prospect in the country by Rivals, Scout, ESPN and PrepStar.

And it's only the beginning.

"Eric hasn't even scratched the surface," Creekside coach Kevin Whitley said Monday night. "You guys are in store for something."

Berry has shown flashes, like the 96-yard interception return for a touchdown against Florida. Through four games, he's fourth on the team in tackles and his 12 solo stops rank third.

"I couldn't really believe I picked it off," Berry says of his interception against Florida. "I read the route, and I was like, 'Is he going to throw it?' Because he was looking over there. Then I was like, 'He's throwing it, he's throwing it.' I just caught it and took off down the sideline. It was amazing."

But his enduring memory of that game isn't the six points he earned for the Vols. It's the six he gave up to Riley Cooper on a 30-yard touchdown when Berry seemed to be in perfect position to make a play on the ball.

That's what had Whitley, who once upon a time played defensive back at Georgia Southern, dialing his former star after the game.

"I was more concerned about him on the touchdown he gave up," Whitley said. "I don't care how good you are in high school, college, pros, somebody's going to get you. He wasn't a perfect player in high school. You're going to miss tackles or get beat. Play the next play, that's what we preach at Creekside."

There are plenty of plays to come for Berry, starting with an Oct. 6 home game against No. 15 Georgia (TV: WVLT, 3:30 p.m.) following this week's bye.

The Vols' secondary, shuffled four times this season, appears to be settled with Berry at strong safety, and fellow newcomers DeAngelo Willingham and Brent Vinson improving at cornerback.

Defensive coordinator John Chavis said Berry played well Saturday night against Arkansas State, and that with time and experience, he'll make even more big plays.

"The experience thing is kicking in now," Berry says. "I've kinda, sorta got a feel of what teams are trying to do. It's different from high school. In high school I knew what teams were going to do right off the bat. Right now you've got to kind of see the field and just look at film a lot.

"Main thing is just getting in the right position before the play starts and just seeing everything. Things are coming along."

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge, a blue-chip recruit turned true-freshman starter in 2004, knows the best way to handle improvement is on a game-by-game basis.

"You might go out there one game and it's slow, it's going great. The play calling, what they're doing, something is making you feel real comfortable," Ainge said. "You might go out the next game and feel like you've never done it before because you don't have the experience to try and make it the same every week.

"Try to get themselves so it takes them less time within that game to get themselves comfortable, I think that's kind of the biggest challenge."

The further along Berry gets, the more familiar the road will become.

He's already used to dealing with pressure and high expectations. That lesson came when taking over the starting quarterback job at Creekside three games into his freshman season, albeit a much tamer proving ground than the SEC.

And then there's the influence of his father, former UT tailback James Berry.

"My dad pretty much prepared me for this," Berry says. "He always jokes around like, 'They can tell you this or they can tell you that, but you'll never be nothing until I say you're something.' That kind of keeps me level-headed and just know I got somewhere else to go."

That direction is up.

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.