Fingers
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#2 Eric Berry
Da'Rick Rogers at #8
https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1785596
Berry was ranked No. 3 nationally, behind Jimmy Clausen and Joe McKnight and No. 1 in Georgia. At No. 2 in Georgia in the Class of 2007 was Cameron Newton. As can be expected with a player of his caliber, Berry's recruiting process was a hectic one, but at the end of the day, he decided he wanted to play closer to home. So while schools like USC and Ohio State were in contention, it came down to Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia. Citing his strong relationship with the coaching staff, Berry decided to commit to the Vols in December of 2006 and of course it didn't hurt that he was a legacy recruit. At Tennessee, Berry was named the SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year after picking off five passes and finishing with 86 tackles. As a sophomore, Berry intercepted seven passes, which tied for the national lead. This led to him earning several First Team All-American honors and being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. After having another amazing season in 2009, which this time also included the Jim Thorpe Award, Berry decided to forego his final season in Knoxville and declare for the 2010 NFL Draft. Berry was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the fifth overall pick. Finishing his rookie season with 92 tackles and four interceptions, Berry was named to the Pro Bowl, as he also was in 2012 and 2013. However, Berry has also had to deal with some troubles during his NFL career. In 2012 he missed a majority of the season after tearing his ACL. Then in late 2014 a mass was discovered in his chest which was later diagnosed as Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Now finished with his Lymphoma treatments, Berry seems to be progressing nicely, but at this time it is still too early to know what his future holds when it comes to returning to the NFL.
Farrell's Take: Berry was easily one of the most naturally talented prospects I have ever seen in person as he did everything with fluidity and ease. But he also liked to hit and was big in run support, so projecting him as a future star wasn't that difficult. Clausen was the bell-to-bell guy for us that year with McKnight No. 1 on some other sites, but Berry was the sure thing of the class. Everyone is hoping for a great comeback for the talented Vols legacy who will likely go down as one of the top five corners I have ever seen.
Da'Rick Rogers at #8
https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1785596