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Eric Berry (Kansas City Chiefs - Cancer Survivor)

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Creekside, Starr's Mill collide in 2-AAAA

By DERRICK MAHONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/15/06 Any discussion about the Creekside football team usually starts with the mention of AJC Super 11 selection Eric Berry.
The state's top prospect usually draws most of the pregame attention, but there is more to the Seminoles than just their highly recruited quarterback/defensive back.
Lost in all the Berry hype is a defense that has not surrendered a point this season in victories against Redan and Riverdale.
The Seminoles (2-0) are riding a 12-game regular-season winning streak into tonight's 7:30 p.m. game at Starr's Mill.
Although Starr's Mill coach Mike Earwood acknowledges that Berry is one of the "best he has coached against" in the past 28 years, he saw very little weakness in the Seminoles while breaking down film this week.
"They are very talented," Earwood said. "Berry's got them overshadowed, but that supporting cast is very dangerous, too."
The Panthers are 2-0 with victories against Cherokee and Rockdale County. But this is the first real test for both teams. Their previous opponents are a combined 1-5-1.
This is the Region 2-AAAA opener for both squads. Both teams came into the season as favorites to take the region crown. Last season, Starr's Mill won the Region 4-AAAAA title before losing to Brookwood in the state quarterfinals.
Creekside won the Region 4-AAAA championship before losing in an upset to Upson-Lee in the first round of the playoffs.
In most scheduling cases, the two region favorites would meet at the conclusion of the regular season rather than to open their region schedule.
But neither coach seems bothered by the early matchup.
"You've got to play them as they fall," Earwood said. "You can't duck anybody. You have to be up for the challenge each week."
After Creekside, the Panthers play playoff-caliber teams Westlake and Banneker in the next two weeks.
"Sometimes you would rather play a good team early before they really start clicking," Creekside coach Kevin Whitley said. "This is a big game."
The players are excited about the contest.
"We are all pretty pumped up," said Starr's Mill quarterback Robby Davis, who has committed to play at Navy. "It's a big game for just the third week of the season. We are going to treat it like it is the region championship. Our first game was in the [Georgia] Dome, and now this game. It has been an emotional first three weeks of the season.
"The thing to realize is that AAAA competition is just as good as AAAAA. We just came down here with a target on our back. We have to have our A-plus game and try to make it a good season."
 
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One encouraging note is that he says he will definitely visit Ohio State as 1 of his officials. I don't know how UTenn writes, so the article may be slanted a bit, but he seemed to like it over there. Too bad we can't get him in for Penn St as it would probably be nice to get him together with the other big names guys coming to Columbus for the game.... also will be a much better game than UTenn/Marshall. Eric does state that UTenn was a family atmosphere, and if that is what he is looking for, then Ohio State would be a percect :)
 
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BERRY IS CREEKSIDE'S MAINSTAY: Eric Berry ran for 108 yards and passed for 147 and two touchdowns to lead Creekside to a 33-12 win over Whitewater.
Chase Owens, who had a 70-yard touchdown catch, finished with 142 yards receiving on four catches for the Seminoles (4-0).
 
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Want 2 play 4 us?: Text messaging the latest tool for college coaches

Football recruiting series Part 1 of 3

By: Jackie Friedman

After two months and $400, Eric Berry's mother cut off his text messaging.

He swore it wasn't his fault. She didn't believe him.

The 2,500 messages a month she already paid for should be plenty. She couldn't understand why he needed more. So her son opened his cell phone to display his inbox for her.

"She got mad at me," Eric Berry said. "She thought I was doing it. She made me show her my phone to prove it wasn't just me and my friends. I had to explain to her, it wasn't me, it was the coaches."

Berry, a senior at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga., and the top-rated high school cornerback by Scout.com, fell victim to a rapidly growing recruiting tactic utilized by college coaches-including Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson and his staff.

While the National Collegiate Athletic Association has stringent restrictions on coaches calling high school prospects, the organization has yet to regulate text messaging. Coaches nationwide have welcomed the strategy and pressured their coaching staffs to practice the technique as they encourage recruits to consider their football programs.

Chris White, who claims to be one of the less bothersome recruiting coordinators, said he's still sending two or three a week to each Syracuse prospect. Now multiply that by the number of schools each player has interested in him.

The texts never end for the top recruits.

Berry has been offered 28 scholarships, but said plenty of other schools continue to keep tabs on him. A Syracuse quarterback commitment, Cody Catalina, from Central Catholic in Greensburg, Pa., received 30 to 35 a day in the beginning of summer. Gary Gray, a top-30 recruit according to Rivals.com, who committed to Notre Dame Sunday, said at least 50 schools have contacted him.

The explosion of text messaging in football parallels the entire country's obsession with quick communication.

According to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, Americans sent more than 7 billion text messages in June 2005-a mammoth increase from the 12 million sent in June 2000.

In the football community, the constant distractions created by text messaging and the financial implications have led many to question if limitations should be established.

"When we got the first bill my mouth fell open," said Carol Berry, Eric's mother. "I just had no idea that (text messaging) was something (coaches) would use to try to contact him."
 
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Creekside senior quarterback Eric Berry had 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns while throwing for 48 yards and another score. He broke up a pass and recovered a fumble to set up a score.
"When everybody keys on me, it gives someone else an opportunity," Berry said. "Although I get a lot of attention, we have several other guys on this team that can shine."

AJC
 
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Berry, Burnett don't mind 'athlete' label

By DERRICK MAHONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/04/06 College football prospects once dreaded the "athlete" label.
Recruiting services put high school players in that category when there is uncertainty about what position they will play in college.
Meet the latest metro players to earn the distinction: Eric Berry of Creekside and Morgan Burnett of North Clayton. Neither is offended. In fact, they wear the terminology like a badge of honor.
Berry plays quarterback and safety for Creekside. Burnett plays quarterback/wide receiver and defensive back at North Clayton. Both AJC Super 11 selections are being heavily recruited by the nation's top programs.
"I kind of like the title as an athlete, because as a football player you should be able to do everything on the field," Berry said. "With me playing so many positions, I can help my team anywhere on the field."
Berry, 6 feet 1, 195 pounds, also has lined up at wide receiver and has one reception for 15 yards. But most of his accomplishments have come as a quarterback, defensive back and punt returner. He has 684 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also has 31 tackles and an interception return for a touchdown.
"I feel I'm an athlete because I can play multiple positions on the field," said Burnett, a 6-1, 190. "I'm more of an athlete who can play quarterback. I take it as an honor."
Not all of the top prospects see themselves as multiposition players.
Westlake's Cameron Newton, a 6-6, 230-pound quarterback who has committed to Florida, doesn't mind being called an athlete, but he is quick to point out that he is a quarterback.
"I'm not offended by being called an athlete," said Newton, who was a starting power forward on the school's state finalist basketball team. "Call me what you want, but I'm a quarterback. Why change positions now? You don't take a lion in the house, because it will be out of his habitat. I've been playing quarterback all my life. Why change now?"
With much-heralded freshman Tim Tebow already on board at Florida, there has been speculation that Newton will be asked to switch positions. Tebow, a Florida native, is considered the heir apparent to Chris Leak.
"Whether a guy accepts being labeled an athlete or not is still based on the individual," said Scott Kennedy, a national recruiting analyst with Scout.com. "Some guys still don't want to hear being called an athlete. They really take pride in their position."
Westlake coach Dallas Allen went through a similar situation with former standout and current Cleveland Browns safety Sean Jones, who was recruited to Georgia as a quarterback.
With David Greene and D.J. Shockley competing for playing time, Jones was switched to defensive back. He developed into a second-round draft pick.
"Sean saw a great opportunity," Allen said. "With Cam, he will get an opportunity. It is up to Cam whether he wants to be a quarterback. You take kids like Eric and Morgan; they are athletes who happen to play quarterback. In Cam's situation, he is a quarterback who happens to be an athlete. There is a big difference."
Berry thinks he fits more into the Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson model. Bailey, a cornerback with the Denver Broncos, split time at receiver and cornerback at Georgia in 1998.
Woodson, the first defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, had stints as a receiver and return specialist at Michigan in 1997.
Berry, whose father, James, played running back at Tennessee, said he is looking at schools that will try to use him in all phases of the game. A former 200-meters state champion, Berry would like to make plays.
"I know I'm a defensive back, but I would like to touch the ball," said Berry, who will make his college choice after the season.
"Eric has very good self-awareness of who he is as a football player," Kennedy said. "He likes the thought of multiple positions. He is special."
 
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