KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two-time unanimous first-team All-America defensive back and College Football Hall of Famer Eric Berry has been named to the prestigious 2024 SEC Football Legends Class, the league office announced on Tuesday.

The 2024 Football Legends class includes 16 former stars who excelled on the gridiron and helped write the rich history of the sport at their respective institutions, and is the first to include representatives from new members Oklahoma and Texas.

The class will be honored at the 2024 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 6-7 in Atlanta, Georgia, highlighted by the annual SEC Legends Celebration presented by T-Mobile on Friday, Dec. 6 at the College Football Hall of Fame. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7.

Berry is the only player in school history to earn unanimous All-America honors twice. In 2009, he became the first player in school history to claim the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back after being a finalist in 2008. A finalist for the 2009 Nagurski Trophy, he also twice claimed the Jack Tatum Award as the nation’s top defensive back. A three-time All-SEC selection, Berry was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 after leading the conference with seven interceptions.

Berry’s tenure in Rocky Top established him as the SEC’s all-time leader in career interception return yards (494) and single-season interception return yards (265 in 2008). He also holds the Vol record for career yards (35.3) per interception. His 14 career interceptions ranks tied for fifth in UT career annals.

The two-year team captain out of Fairburn, Georgia, culminated his career with 245 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, 14 interceptions, 31 passes defended, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Berry became the highest drafted Vol defensive player since Reggie White (1984) when he was selected with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft by Kansas City. Berry played with the Chiefs until 2018, making five Pro Bowl appearances and earning first team All-Pro honors three times. After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014, he was named the 2015 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

In December 2023, Berry was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, becoming the 26th Vol to do so.

2024 SEC Football Legends Class
Alabama – Barrett Jones, Offensive Lineman, 2009-12
Arkansas – Ken Hamlin, Free Safety, 2000-02
Auburn – Marcus McNeill, Offensive Tackle, 2002-05
Florida – Rex Grossman, Quarterback, 2000-02
Georgia – Terrence Edwards, Receiver, 1999-2002
Kentucky – Dicky Lyons Sr., Tailback/Receiver/All-Purpose, 1966-68
LSU – Andrew Whitworth, Offensive Tackle, 2002-05
Ole Miss – Dexter McCluster, Running Back, 2006-09
Mississippi State – Fletcher Cox, Defensive Lineman, 2009-11
Missouri – Chase Daniel, Quarterback, 2005-08
Oklahoma – Barry Switzer, Head Coach, 1973-88
South Carolina – Corey Miller, Defensive End, 1987-90
Tennessee – Eric Berry, Defensive Back, 2007-09
Texas – Vince Young, Quarterback, 2002-05
Texas A&M – Luke Joeckel, Offensive Tackle, 2010-12
Vanderbilt – Ricky Anderson, Punter/Kicker, 1981-84

DALLAS – Redshirt senior wide receiver Bru McCoy was tabbed as one of 20 semifinalists for 2024 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year on Tuesday afternoon, as announced by the award’s selection committee.

The Witten Award honors the type of exemplary character and commitment to community, family and teammates demonstrated by Jason Witten, the 2012 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year and one of the most prominent role models in the game. 

McCoy is the fourth UT player to be named a semifinalist in the award’s eight-year history, joining Trey Smith (2019 winner), Hendon Hooker (2022) and Joe Milton III (2023).

The group of semifinalists consists of 19 seniors and one junior, all of which are well-respected individuals who have demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field. The SEC boasts the most semifinalists of any conference with six.

Now in his third season at Tennessee, McCoy has become a team leader for the Big Orange in all facets. Through seven games this season, the California native leads the team with 20 receptions and ranks second with 289 receiving yards.

He has also fought through adversity and served as an inspiration to his teammates and others through his determination and commitment to helping others, all traits that are required to be considered for this prestigious honor.

McCoy’s determination to return from a gruesome ankle fracture-dislocation last season has inspired his teammates, coaches, fans and countless others as he prepared to return to the football field and represent the Vols in his final collegiate season in 2024. His courage during the early days of his recovery followed by his persistence throughout the rehabilitation process has served as a reminder to everyone that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and attack every day with a purpose.

Aside from his inspirational road to recovery, McCoy has also used his platform to benefit others in need through his “Huddle for Hearts” initiative, which has helped provide youth athletic organizations with AEDs (automated external defibrillator), a medical device designed to save those experiencing Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

McCoy was inspired to start the initiative after seeing the sudden cardiac arrest incident involving NFL player Demar Hamlin during the Buffalo Bills – Kansas City Chiefs “Monday Night Football” game in January of 2024. The frightening incident resulted in McCoy getting involved with the Peyton Walker Foundation’s life-saving efforts.

The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school’s athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 16 years.

Witten was a standout tight end at Tennessee during his college career, earning All-America honors from the Sporting News in 2002 before being selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft and going on to have a decorated 17-year pro career that included 11 Pro Bowl appearances.

Three finalists will be named on Monday, Dec. 16 and the winner will be announced at the award ceremony at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2025.

The complete list of semifinalists for the 2024 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award can be seen HERE.