Tennessee strong safety Eric Berry was selected the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Southeastern Conference coaches, the league office announced Wednesday.Berry, a sophomore from Fairburn, Ga., had one of the best seasons ever by a Tennessee defensive back. He finished third on the team with 72 tackles and posted an FBS-best seven interceptions. He returned those interceptions for a single-season school and conference record 265 yards, scoring two touchdowns along the way.
Combined with his 222 interception return yards from his freshman season, Berry now has the UT and SEC career records for interception return yards with 487 as well.
The end of football season hasn't slowed Berry down. Earlier in the week, he was named All-America by the American Football Coaches Association, and he was selected first-team All-SEC and SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press prior to earning those same two honors from the league's coaches.
Berry picked up a second All-America honor Wednesday, getting the nod from Rivals.com as a first-team selection. He was one of nine SEC players on the first team and one of six sophomores to make the list.
Thursday night, Berry will be in Orlando, Fla., attending the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show where he is a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to college football's top defensive back.
Other SEC individual award winners included Florida's Tim Tebow (Offensive Player of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year), Florida's Brandon James (Special Teams Player of the Year), Georgia's A.J. Green (Freshman of the Year) and Ole Miss' Michael Oher (Jacobs Blocking Trophy). Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson, Ole Miss' Houston Nutt and Alabama's Nick Saban were named Coaches of the Year.
2008 SEC FOOTBALL INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Tim Tebow, QB, FloridaOffensive Player of the Year: Tim Tebow, QB, FloridaDefensive Player of the Year: Eric Berry, DB, TennesseeSpecial Teams Player of the Year: Brandon James, RS, FloridaFreshman of the Year: A.J. Green, WR, GeorgiaJacobs Blocking Trophy: Michael Oher, Ole Miss.
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Tim Tebow, QB, FloridaOffensive Player of the Year: Tim Tebow, QB, FloridaDefensive Player of the Year: Eric Berry, DB, TennesseeSpecial Teams Player of the Year: Brandon James, RS, FloridaFreshman of the Year: A.J. Green, WR, GeorgiaJacobs Blocking Trophy: Michael Oher, Ole Miss.
Coach of the Year *Houston Nutt, Ole Miss*Nick Saban, Alabama*Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt # - Unanimous Selection* - Ties
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