Berry moves closer to record

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Tennessee cornerback Eric Berry (14) catches in interception from Memphis defensive back Alton Starr (7) during action Saturday, Nov 7, 2009 in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

Eric Berry got the retribution he wanted.

He racked up the stats his sagging Heisman Trophy campaign needed.

The junior safety delivered a few hits, finally intercepted another pass and then added a fumble recovery for good measure.

All that was missing was a record, but after one more complete individual performance and a mostly stellar effort from the UT defense, odds are Berry wasn't disappointed after throttling Memphis 56-28 on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. The rest of the Vols still left wanting just a little bit more for the their star though.

"Oh, we wanted to get it for him bad," UT linebacker LaMarcus Thompson said. "He went one way (on the return), I cracked on somebody, he ran the other way, I blocked somebody else.

"I didn't know if he broke it or not - eight more yards (to go)? Oh man, we're always pulling for Eric to get that record. Hopefully in these next three games he'll get it. We're going to block for him if he gets that interception, trust me."

The Vols did their best to spring him after Berry hauled in a tipped pass in the second quarter, but everybody might have been guilty of pressing once he finally got the ball back in his hands.

Too much excitement and too many cuts ended the return after just seven yards, and the confusion continued even after Berry was finally brought down after his 14th career interception.

"I actually was screwed up," UT coach Lane Kiffin said. "I thought he broke the record on the play. That's why I thought everything was taking so long, so I kind of made a big deal of it. I still thought he had it until the end of the game and somebody told me. So much for that.

"I thought he had it, and I told the team last night he was going to break the record today. I just had a feeling he was going to do it. It'll come by playing hard, and he played great. Eventually he'll get the record."

He settled for getting another turnover after recovering a fumble on the first drive of the second half, and his game was over midway through the next drive.

But Berry made clear throughout the week he'd rather have an emphatic win over the Tigers than the record anyway, particularly after spending all week reading Tommy West's ill-fated joke about Kiffin. Even with Berry on the sideline for most of the third quarter and all of the fourth, that was never in jeopardy.

"Eric is the type of player that brings it every week, so if he brings something extra, it's kind of hard to notice because he's just on that next level already," defensive end Ben Martin said. "We can't really notice stuff like that because he's always intense, always focused, so I think that's a great characteristic of him. He's always prepared, always extra ready and focused. He's really into the game, knows what's going on - he's just a great guy to play with.

"Anytime he gets the ball you expect something to happen, but he got the pick, and I think that's what really matters to the team."

The next step is making sure Berry can do more with the next one.

He and the Vols still got just about all they could have asked for though.

"Eric Berry is a great, humble guy, and he's worried about getting the win," Thompson said. "He's very humble, and we all love Eric and the way he handles himself.

"He's not really worried about getting the record."

The victories obviously come first. But clearly the rest of the Vols have some interest in the record.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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