Man has there been a lot of attention on Eric Berry’s little brother, Evan Berry.
If you haven’t seen the story, Rivals.com recently wrote that Evan has committed to Tennessee, where Eric is a star safety.
Drew Edwards of the Knoxville News Sentinel has looked further into the matter.
Mr. Edwards caught up with James Berry, the father of Eric and Evan (as well as Elliott, Evan’s twin brother). The elder Berry pointed out an inaccuracy with the Rivals story.
First, Evan and Elliott will be in the eighth grade this fall, not the ninth grade. That would make them members of the 2014 class, not 2013. James Berry said he was surprised to see all the attention surrounding his younger sons.
“I was taken aback,” Berry told the News Sentinel.
So was I. This has been blown way out of proportion. Evan Berry obviously follows UT because his father and older brother have both had standout careers in Knoxville.
Evan, although he’s still very young, is at least a standout athlete for his age. He was asked if he wants to play at UT, and the answer was yes. It doesn’t mean he’ll end up playing for the Vols, but there will be players in the 2010 class that switch their commitments before National Signing Day as well. Why don’t we just rule out the ability for players to “commit” altogether?
UT fans think it’s cool to have Evan committed because they like Eric so much. It would be the same with Florida and Tim Tebow, Georgia with Knowshon Moreno and Alabama with Julio Jones.
Anyway, here are some takes on the issue by writers from across the nation:
ESPN.com’s Chris Low says it’s absurd that kids are committing to colleges before they get to high school. (By the way, UT fans are upset with Mr. Low over the article. Why? He doesn’t say one bad thing about the Vols?)
SI.com’s Andy Staples looks at the great sports families of the future. Some good stuff here.
Mark Hasty of AOL Fanhouse also sees that this is being blown out of proportion.
