KNOXVILLE — Sophomore cornerback Brent Vinson has been suspended from Saturday’s game at South Carolina for violating team rules, Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer said Thursday evening.
Vinson, who started most of last season, has suspended from UT’s season-opening loss at UCLA for violating the athletic department’s class-attendance policy.
“He’s got a lot of ability,” said Fulmer, who declined to give specifics on Vinson’s latest setback. “He’s got to handle himself a lot better.”
Vinson — a highly touted recruit who is widely considered one of the team’s best athletes — has been the third cornerback when active this season. His playing time had increased in recent weeks.
Fulmer said junior Marsalous Johnson and senior Antonio Gaines would be the team’s third and fourth corners Saturday.
Berry picky
UT secondary coach Larry Slade must not grade on a curve.
Volunteers sophomore safety star Eric Berry said he’s graded out at an “A” level in just one of the team’s eight games this season — an Oct. 18 victory over Mississippi State.
Berry leads major NCAA Division I with five interceptions this season, and he’s picked off 10 passes for a Southeastern Conference record 397 return yards in less than two full seasons.
“Slade grades me extremely hard,” Berry said.
Berry said he’s been given a “B” in every other game this season, with the lowest mark an 83 at Auburn.
“I feel like I just wasn’t myself that game,” Berry said. “I wasn’t really just flying around like I should have been, and that was the main thing. I was where I was supposed to be, but (Slade) wanted me to ... you know, he just expects so much out of me, and I just didn’t take it to the next level.”
Berry has delivered several punishing tackles this season, drawing thousands of YouTube.com hits for shoulder shrugs that sent Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno and Alabama’s Marquis Maze off their feet.
“I think Knowshon probably got the most of it,” Berry said when asked to compare the two. “I think I just got the top of my head in with Maze. I think Knowshon probably got the best of it, (but) I liked the Maze hit better.
“I think I got a lot of respect from the Knowshon hit, but I like the hit on Maze better.”
Several opponents have been cautions of calling passes toward Berry’s side of the field, but South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier told The State newspaper that UT moves Berry around too much to avoid him for 60 minutes.
“He’s just a heck of a player that seems to find the ball or the ball finds him a lot during the game,” Spurrier said.
MIAs
Fulmer said he expected junior defensive tackle Dan Williams (ankle), sophomore wide receiver Gerald Jones (ankle) and junior defensive end Wes Brown (knee) to play Saturday.
Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson said he would be “shocked” if Jones didn’t play.
Fulmer said Jones — a situational quarterback who didn’t play in last week’s loss to Alabama — would be “functional” against the Gamecocks.
Correspondent Will Woodbery contributed to this report.
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