Trust the return.

That’s what Tennessee’s Evan Berry, the nation’s leading kick returner, tells himself right before a kickoff. He knows that to have any chance of returning a kick to the opponent’s end zone, he needs to trust his blockers.

Trust the return.

He catches the the kickoff running forward, making sure he has enough speed and time to hit the crease. The momentum he creates by catching the ball while running allows him to cover more ground than if he caught the ball while standing still. When he catches the ball, he takes off. And his top end speed is legitimate — Berry was the Georgia class 5A 100-meter dash champion when he was a high school junior in 2013.

Trust the return.

Running with top-end speed, Berry relies on freshman deep man Micah Abernathy to lead him to the spot where Berry’s blockers will open up a small crease for him to burst through. But the crease won’t open up until Berry approaches it.

Trust the return.

When he bursts through the crease, his speed is incredibly dangerous. If he has enough space, he will take the kickoff the rest of the way for a touchdown — he scored three TDs on only 18 returns this season.

Tennessee special teams coordinator Mark Elder acknowledges that Berry has the gifts to be a great return man.

“Evan is very fast,” Elder said. “He has got great top-end speed. He is able to run through arm tackles, and when he breaks free, he has a good shot at taking it all the way to the end zone.”

But Elder noted what distinguishes Berry from the rest of the nation’s return men: his willingness to trust his blockers.

“Evan doesn’t try to dance and doesn’t try to make something that’s not there,” Elder said. “He’ll be the first one to tell you that no one makes it to the end zone without blocking. Evan blindly trusts the return and the hole opens up right before he gets there.”

Sure enough, when Berry is asked how he has managed to return three kickoffs for TDs, he talks about his blockers.

“It’s a great feeling when I score a touchdown,” Berry said. “And the guys blocking for me want me to get there as bad as I do. Sometimes, it feels like a dream.”

It’s been a dream that almost didn’t happen.

When Berry was recruited from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia, the Tennessee coaching staff didn’t plan for him to return kickoffs. But Berry desperately wanted an opportunity to be on the field.

“I wasn’t on the depth chart my first year starting camp,” Berry said. “But I kept pulling on coach [Butch] Jones’s shirt tail, saying that I’m here and I want to play.”

Eventually, Elder had Berry practice catching kickoffs. Berry worked his way up to backup kickoff returner in 2014, but didn’t have an opportunity until Tennessee’s sixth game of the season when top kick returner Devrin Young injured his ribs against Chattanooga.

On the opening kickoff of the second half of that game, Berry made the most of his opportunity. He caught the kick at Tennessee’s 15-yard line and took off to the spot where his blockers were supposed to open up a crease.

At the 25, he ran right into his wall of blockers. But he kept his balance, bounced back inside, broke a tackle and took off for the end zone. He broke one more tackle and hurdled another defender before he was tackled at the Chattanooga 19.

With that 68-yard return, Berry secured the starting job and he’s made the most of it, leading the nation this season with a 40.6-yard kick return average.

Berry said there are many reasons for his improvement as a kick returner. His blockers have improved. He is stronger and he does a better job of playing off blocks. But most important is his confidence.

Berry continues to work and fight for opportunities. Since his older brother, former All-American safety Eric Berry, recovered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma this past year, he wants to ensure he doesn’t squander any chances.

“Football can be taken away from you,” Berry said. “So you need to work hard because you don’t know how long your opportunity is going to last.”