Tennessee Football: Butch Jones says Evan Berry could play some offense in 2017

When asked about the possibility of playing senior safety Evan Berry on offense, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones didn’t shy away from it.

“There’s a possibility there,” Jones said. Butch had just finished stressing that the team needed to find playmakers and consistency on both sides of the ball. If you want a playmaker, look no further than Evan Berry. We speculated on this possibility several weeks ago.

“The first thing is that we have to get Evan’s health back. It starts at the safety position — it starts at the kickoff return position. You could see his role expand a little on the offensive side of the ball,” Jones said.

Butch called Berry “special” with the ball in his hands. Tennessee has at least put some amount of thought into this. We saw Berry get a jet sweep look last season against South Carolina for a minimal gain.

With plenty of roster turnover and playmakers needed, there’s really no reason not to try to involve Berry more offensively. John Kelly and Jauan Jennings can only carry so much weight. With almost nothing proven behind them, throwing Berry into the mix makes some sense.

The record setting return man could be the spark Tennessee needs offensively off the bench.