Evan Berry is the latest true freshman called upon to serve a critical role for Tennessee this season. Last week, senior return specialist Devrin Young  fractured several ribs and Berry shined in his absence. The freshman recorded a 68-yard return, the longest kickoff return for Tennessee this season.

“He did a nice job this weekend and we’re expecting him to play a role for us in that capacity in the future,” special teams coordinator Mark Elder said.

For Elder, Berry brought a new element of speed to the special teams unit while he continues to improve his fundamentals, which could make him the team’s new go-to returner.

“Speed is obviously a big thing because kickoff return is a little different than a punt return,” Elder said. “There’s not a lot of dancing involved with it. You’re looking to hit a certain hole and do it well. You’re looking for ball security and then you’re looking for a guy with good vision because you’ve got to make the right cuts at full speed. So we’re looking for a guy that can field the ball well, has great speed and is making good decisions.”

Berry’s kickoff return caught the attention of the Tennessee fans in attendance. The freshman managed to leap over a defender mid-run, forcing a missed tackle before being stopped on his season-long run.

“I had never seen the hurdle before in practice,” Elder laughed. “He did a nice job of playing through an arm tackle, saw some green grass to the big field and took off running and used his speed. When his number was called, he did a nice job this weekend.”