It’s not often that we talk about recruiting here at Crystal Ball Run, and even less often (if ever) that we talk about recruiting when it pertains to kids who won’t be on a college campus for another three years. But in the case of a couple of elite high school sophomores in Georgia, we’re willing to make the very rare exception.
Meet Elliot and Evan Berry two of the hottest names in Southern recruiting circles, a pair who hails from Creekside High School, right outside Atlanta. The duo already own scholarship offers from essentially the entire SEC, including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
However, if they were simply two outstanding high school football players with major scholarship offers, we probably wouldn’t be talking about them. But there are two things that make the Berry boys unique.
The first is something you’ve probably figured out, and that’s that the Berry boys are identical twins. Looking at the picture above, I doubt you’re surprised.
The second thing though, is something you might not have picked up. That little nugget is that the boys have some very famous and athletic bloodlines. The twins are the sons of famed Tennessee running back James Berry, meaning that they’re also the younger brothers of former Vols All-American and Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Small world, huh?
Either way, the younger Berry’s are already quickly establishing their own names, both on the football field and track too.
On the gridiron, it is actually Evan who has taken more to his older brother’s game, playing both cornerback and quarterback since arriving at Creekside, the same positions Eric played a half a decade ago. The slightly bigger Elliot plays safety and running back, and projects as either an outside linebacker or safety in college. And for those recruiters already drooling about getting both on campus (and they are a package deal), we’ll add a little fuel to the fire: According to their high school coach Johnny White, both are already bigger than Eric was at the same age.
They’re also plenty fast, as we learned this past week at the Fulton County Championships. The pair joined with Auburn football commit Josh Holsey and Sidney Buchanan to take home the 4×100 relay in a staggering 40.96 seconds, blowing past the rest of the overmatched competition at the field (then again, how many of the other participants had an older brother who set an SEC record for interception return yards?). For comparison’s sake the high school record in the 4×100 is 39.76 seconds, just a little over a second off Creekside’s pace.
So with that combination of size and speed, you’re probably dying to know where the twins will end up playing college ball, right? With the family connection, the obvious expectation would be that the pair ends up at Tennessee (especially after Elliot once famously committed to the Vols as a middle-schooler), but the truth is, the recruiting seems to be wide open. As we mentioned, Alabama, Vanderbilt and a few others are trying to get into the mix early, yet it may actually be Auburn that has the inside track. The twins run track with Auburn commit Josh Holsey (as mentioned above), and Tigers assistant coach Trooper Taylor is also a longtime family friend, dating back to his days at Tennessee when he recruited Eric to Knoxville (then again, aren’t we all friends with Trooper Taylor in some way?).
But regardless of where they end up, just do yourself a favor and write down the names Elliot and Evan Berry.
This won’t be the last time you hear from them.
For all his articles, insights and more, follow Aaron on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
