How Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee Eric Berry had to be reminded how good he was

Eric Berry is very unassuming about just how good he was on the football field.

Berry's father, James, had to remind his son that he was a force in the sport. It's why Eric will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas. And why he was at the Omni Hotel Nashville on Saturday night as one of 12 new members of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

"He told me 'I don't think you understand just how good you are,' " Berry said. "And he's right about that because I put my all into it. I wasn't looking for accolades and awards. I just wanted to be a great teammate and put everything I had into the game."

Saturday gave Berry a chance to reflect on his career — from his time at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia, to his years as an college star playing safety at Tennessee from 2007-09 — as well as his life. Four years into his pro career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Berry was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma that ended his season, six games into the 2014 campaign. While the cancer was treatable, it gave Berry pause.

"I understand the magnitude of these awards but there's also an understanding of a reference point on that timeline which was me overcoming cancer," Berry said. "It's all about the people that I've encountered on my journey."

Berry said he talked at length with former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer about his playing days that included an SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, unanimous All-American honors as well as First Team All-SEC in 2008 and 2009.

"Eric is the only player in my 16 years as a head coach that started his first game as a freshman," Fulmer said. "You think of all the greats we ever had, that's pretty special. And he played great the entire time he was there."

Fulmer recalled James Berry arriving in Knoxville, in 1978 as a running back, "as a five-star high school player, when there weren't many five-stars in the country then." He said James passed that work ethic down to Eric.

In three seasons at UT, Berry had 241 tackles, three sacks, 14 interceptions and was the Jim Thorpe Award winner in 2009. He spent nine years in the NFL with the Chiefs and was a five-time Pro Bowler and earned All Pro honors three times. After returning from cancer treatment, he was named NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2015.

"This award and this honor is really a tribute to all of the people that have touched my life not just on the field but off the field as well," Berry said.

Berry will be among 18 players inducted into the College Hall of Fame, including USC running back Reggie Bush, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney. Two hall of fame inductions in the same year are rare, but Berry's connection to the Vols hasn't faded.

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"I wasn't born in Tennessee but the Berry roots and Berry legacy runs deep," he said. "My dad went here. A lot of his friends went here. My brothers went here. You heard Rocky Top. Rocky Top will always be home sweet home to me. To see those lyrics and that song actually means something. They pretty much embraced me as their own."

Berry was joined by fellow 2023 inductee, and former Vols defensive tackle, John Henderson as well as Keith Bulluck (Tennessee Titans), Mike Fisher (Predators), Zach Randolph (Memphis Grizzlies), Teresa Lawrence Phillips (former Vanderbilt basketball star, and Tennessee State women's coach and administrator), Loren Roberts (PGA golfer) and Steve Smith (Middle Tennessee State baseball).

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.