General

Evan Berry Is Recruitin’ Jailbait

Jun 29, 2009, 9:00 PM UTC

Sportwriters, startâ†µyour cluckin’ engines. Lane Kiffin thinks a guy who hasn’t reachedâ†µhigh school has a purty backpedal: â†µâ†µâ‡¥“Yes, I committed to Tennessee,” Evan [Berry] said. “It’s the onlyâ†µâ‡¥college I know right now and it seems the best for me. My dad went thereâ†µâ‡¥and my brother is there now.”â†µâ†µâ†µIt’s time once again for Recruiting â†µPedo Bearâ†µGoes Too Far: Evan Berry, the younger brother of Tennessee secondaryâ†µninja Eric, has committed to Tennessee. He’s 13. Berry’s favorite thingsâ†µaside from Tennessee football are Hannah Montana, his rubber bandâ†µcollection, and giving crotchety old columnists material with which toâ†µrail against the internet and/or Lane Kiffin. â†µ

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â†µâ†µThe chances some columnistâ†µdesperate for material in the doldrums of summer takes this opportunityâ†µto rail against the recruiting industry that’s rapidly supplanting him:â†µ100 percent. Watch thisâ†µGoogle news search, if you’re weird.â†µ

â†µâ†µYes, it’s probably unwise to offer a scholarship to a kid who barelyâ†µweighs more than Layla Kiffin. For comparison, here’s Michael Jackson atâ†µ13. But you know, whatever. Chances this is a solid commitment areâ†µslim. This gambit’s been tried before. â†µ

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â†µWhen Chris Leak was a mewling tyke -- also in ninth grade -- he committedâ†µto Wake Forest to play with his brother CJ, then a Demon Deaconsâ†µquarterback. He decommitted when CJ transferred to Tennessee,â†µironically, and had the Vols #1 on his list until, as Matt Hayes tellsâ†µit, his older brother gotâ†µscrewed over by the Tennessee coaches:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Two years ago, he [C.J.] started the Georgia game for an injuredâ†µâ‡¥[Casey] Clausen and was replaced early in the first quarter by freshmanâ†µâ‡¥James Banks because the Vols were struggling on offense. That snubâ†µâ‡¥convinced Chris Leak to back off of the Vols in the recruiting processâ†µâ‡¥and embrace Florida.â†µâ†µâ†µLeak bounced back from underclassman losses against the Vols toâ†µwin his last two; in his senior year he accounted for all 21 ofâ†µFlorida’s points in the Gators’ 21-20 win. Florida won theâ†µnational title. Someone get Kiffin a time machine so we can blame thisâ†µon him.â†µ

â†µâ†µOf course, there’s little chance the younger Berry sees his brotherâ†µundergo a similar benching. When Rockyâ†µTop Talk counted down the top 15 plays of Tennessee’s 2008 season,â†µthe top three were allâ†µBerry, as were sevenâ†µof the 15 candidates. â†µ

â†µâ†µBut we should file this under Tennessee PR stunts, right? At thisâ†µpoint, they could beat Florida and I would shrug and say “meh ... PRâ†µstunt.”â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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