Retire Eric Berry's Jersey - #14

#27
#27
Player of the decade.

Best defensive player at UT since Reggie White (says a lot, since we have had many wonderful defenders)

#14 needs to be preserved
Roland James was far too good to permanantly associate #14 with only Eric Berry (disregarding my personal opinion against retiring college jerseys)
 
#28
#28
he never won the SEC, never beat Bama,never beat Florida. played on only two winning teams. if the bowl is his last game, 14 wont be retired

yeah, and surely all those are his fault. under that kind of criteria reggie white's number wouldn't be retired either
 
#29
#29
I say keep it and let it be known that the best player in the secondary wears #14. That would be an honor and a tradition that kids would want to come play for.
 
#30
#30
Berry's 14 should be retired no question about it. He is one of the most dominant players to come through UT. He changes games.

The reason he isnt winning those awards is because he has played on some terrible Tennessee teams. Thats the difference. Berry cant do it by himself, if you take Berry of this defense we dont win 7 games. Berry should have won the Thorpe award last year, & he will win it this year. He should become another All American which will be twice he has done that. All SEC all 3 years? I might be wrong did he get All SEC his freshmen year?
 
#31
#31
retiring numbers is stupid. if we retired a number everytime a great player came through here, eventually there wouldn't be enough numbers to field a team. with as many players on the teams we have today, we need all the numbers instead of have duplicate numbers. I hate that.
 
#33
#33
We can look back on this thread once he spends some time in the NFL. I actually don't have a problem with retired numbers....yet there is something nice about seeing current great players wear the number of some of your favorite greats.
 
#34
#34
retiring numbers is stupid. if we retired a number everytime a great player came through here, eventually there wouldn't be enough numbers to field a team. with as many players on the teams we have today, we need all the numbers instead of have duplicate numbers. I hate that.

I don't completely agree, but look at the yankees. They have so many numbers retired all their players have uncommon numbers. Not that we're the yankees... If i was voting for it, 14 would get my vote.
 
#35
#35
retiring numbers is stupid. if we retired a number everytime a great player came through here, eventually there wouldn't be enough numbers to field a team. with as many players on the teams we have today, we need all the numbers instead of have duplicate numbers. I hate that.

Agreed. There's been too many other good players to single out Berry. To be honest, he hasn't been a factor in every single game this year. He didn't get his record. He's one of the best no doubt but to say he's that much better than Al Wilson, Raynoch Thompson, etc. is a stretch.
 
#37
#37
I don't completely agree, but look at the yankees. They have so many numbers retired all their players have uncommon numbers. Not that we're the yankees... If i was voting for it, 14 would get my vote.

there are far many players on a football team than there is on a baseball team.
 
#38
#38
Player of the decade.

Best defensive player at UT since Reggie White (says a lot, since we have had many wonderful defenders)

#14 needs to be preserved

Berry is great, no doubt, but he ain't better than Al Wilson was (though they played different positions).

Maybe it would be easier to say that if I was a DB and a mlb away from a contender and had to pick between Berry or Wilson...

I'd take the most intimidating mofo to ever put on the Orange... the sight that made college rbs wet their pads...

al_wilson.jpg
 
#42
#42
No slight to EB, but Al Wilson's #27 deserves discussion. Played with "pride in the orange shirt" as hard as any Vol in the history of the program.
 
#43
#43
Yeah, he hasn't met the criteria. I'd love to see him honored, though.

Why not make the Orange 14 like USC's 55. Put the 14 on the DB that most exemplifies what EB meant to UT.

Like one of the little Berry's....
 
#45
#45
Name a street after him...

But don't retire the jersey. I am not a fan.

And plus, that is some tough criteria. I think that holding an NCAA record should be added to the criteria.
 
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