Berry shines with big brother watching

photo University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defensive lineman Josh Freeman chases University of Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley on Saturday in Neyland Stadium.

KNOXVILLE - With Eric Berry using his off week to return to his alma mater, Evan Berry did his best impression of his older brother, the former Tennessee superstar and current Kansas City Pro Bowl safety.

With his first touch of the football this season, the freshman defensive back returned the opening kickoff of the second half 68 yards to set up a touchdown as the Volunteers cruised past UT-Chattanooga 45-10 at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.

"I was very excited," Berry said after the Volunteers' longest kickoff return since Cordarrelle Patterson's 98-yard touchdown at Mississippi State in 2012. "It's [Eric's] first Tennessee game as a fan, actually. For him to be here watching me, I was just trying to do everything to get him excited."

Evan, who got some running back work in practice last week, likely did that when he jumped over a UTC coverage man, though that probably got him caught from behind at the Mocs' 19-yard line.

Two plays later, quarterback Justin Worley passed to Johnathon Johnson for a touchdown and a 31-3 lead.

"He did a great job, and now he's got to find how to finish," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "Evan has another element of speed, and he has great confidence. Our players believe in him.

"You start the second half with a big splash play, a big momentum play, and we did a great job of turning it into seven points. That's always big to really set the temperament, set the tone for the second half."

Berry and sophomore Malik Foreman handled kickoff-return duties after Devrin Young left the game, and Jones said the senior suffered "a couple of broken ribs" in the first half.

Johnson doubles up

The first touchdown catch of his career wasn't enough for Johnson, so he decided to grab another.

The 5-foot-9, 186-pounder continued his quiet stretch of solid play, following up catches of 27 and 24 yards against Georgia and Florida the past two weeks with two touchdown catches Saturday.

"They were great play-calls, and Worley threw a great ball, so it opened up for me," he said. "It was very rewarding. Practicing each week and going out there and giving it my all, when it came my way tonight, it felt great."

The Vols plucked Johnson out of Blinn College in Texas late last summer, and with a couple of receivers either resting or sitting out, he provided help at the position.

"He's playing great football," Worley said. "I think the coaches are really impressed with how he's improved from last year to this year. He does everything right. You don't see him messing up too often or dropping too many balls."

Sutton's starter

After Tennessee's defense forced a quick three-and-out to start the game, cornerback Cam Sutton got the Vols going by picking up a rolling punt and dashing 42 yards to set up the Vols' 38-yard scoring drive.

Sutton entered the game with 13 yards on just five returns for the season, his longest return going all of 4 yards.

"It felt pretty good," he said. "The guys up front did a great job of just staying on their blocks, and it's something we went through throughout the week. We went back to the basics of the scheme of our punt return and finishing blocks."

Status updates

Receiver Marquez North left the game after taking a hard hit to his lower back late in the first quarter and did not return, though Jones said he could have if needed. Fellow receiver Josh Smith (ankle) remains in a walking boot.

Linebacker Chris Weatherd, the junior college transfer who registered his second sack in as many games in the first quarter, left the game after a collision making a tackle, but he returned on a couple of special-teams units later in the game.

Jones said left tackle Jacob Gilliam, who has practiced for the past couple of weeks a little more than a month removed from tearing his ACL against Utah State, is "close" to playing. The fifth-year senior was with the second-team offense during pregame warmups but didn't join the other backups when they entered the game in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee tidbits

Tennessee now has defeated an FCS team in each of the last five seasons (UT-Martin in 2010, Montana in 2011, Georgia State 2012, Austin Peay in 2013 and UTC on Saturday), and the combined score of those games is 230-39 ... The Vols extended their streak of home nonconference wins to 15 dating back to a loss to Oregon in 2010. ... Tennessee actually won the opening coin toss, snapping an 11-game streak of losing the toss. ... Tennessee's captains for the game were quarterback Worley and linebackers A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt. ... Justin Coleman's interception in the third quarter was the second of the senior's career, the other coming against Western Kentucky last season.

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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