If Nothing Else, UT is Ambitious

Written by Josh Cohron | 21 July 2009

Grubby just forwarded me an email from "Lane Kiffin." The actual email was from a webmaster or something, but that's not the point. The bulk of the email was much more interesting than the fact that Lane Kiffin can't send out an email on his own (he might be worried about another secondary violation). The University of Tennessee was announcing that it will be promoting Eric Berry as a Heisman candidate. Here's part of the email:

Earlier today we officially announced we will be promoting Eric Berry as a Heisman candidate throughout the coming season. We are putting our full support behind Eric and hope that we can count on your support as well.

It also goes on to say that there is a website everyone should check out, www.berry4heisman.com. If you don't enjoy 100,000 people cheering, "Eric, Eric..." with clapping in the background, I'd suggest turning your speakers off before going to the site. You can't blame Tennessee for getting Berry's name out there. Lots of schools have been pimping players for the award. Heck, Oregon put a huge billboard of Joey Harrington up in Times Square in NYC with hopes to inflate his stock (he finished 4th).

Look, I'm not trying to disparage Berry's talents or piss Grubby off, but this seems to be a bit much. A look through past Heisman winners shows that no player that solely played defense has ever won the award. Charles Woodson, who mostly played cornerback for Michigan, famously beat out UT's own, Peyton Manning, for the 1997 Heisman. Woodson had 8 INT as CB, 2 TD receptions as a WR and 1 TD returning kicks. Berry could definitely have the 8 INTs in his future (he has 12 INTs in his first two seasons), but don't expect any snaps on offense. Lane Kiffin told GoVolsXtra.com that he, "would never play someone somewhere based on any award."

So, with all three Heisman finalists (Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow) from last year back playing again this year, Eric Berry probably won't win the Heisman. But, for a rabid fanbase that just sat through an awful 4-8 season, you have to respect UT and Kiffin for trying to get the fanbase excited about football again. I think as long as a Michigan cornerback doesn't take home the trophy, UT fans won't be too pissed.