Eric Berry's work ethic will help him in the NFL

Tennessee safety Eric Berry, a graduate of Creekside High, was taught the essence of hard work by his father, James Berry.

As a teen, he helped his father, a general contractor and factory worker, paint houses in the scorching Georgia heat.

After his dad, who was a running back at Tennessee from 1978 to 1981, had heart surgery, Berry elected to leave school and enter the draft.

"I really just wanted to be able to sit him down and just let him enjoy life for a little bit," Berry said recently. "When I sat down and made the decision, I had to put my family pretty much before my school."

Berry appreciated his father's work ethic and has tried to emulate him. He also saw his father's hard-charging running style from his days at Tennessee.

"My dad worked at Owens Corning. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but they make insulation for houses," Berry said. "He also was an interior and exterior painter. That's the job I worked with him. He didn't let me work at the other one. It was too dangerous. But that one definitely showed me why I could appreciate why the lights were on."

Berry, who's set to become an instant millionaire, can look back at the work fondly, even though he was making only about $5.50 an hour.

"It was very hard, especially outside during the summer time and it was like 96 degrees and you could see yourself on the ladder at 12 o'clock noon and the sun was beating down on you," Berry said.

That hard work is about to pay off. Over the past 10 NFL drafts, only five safeties have been selected in the top 10 picks. Berry is projected to be the sixth in the past 11 drafts.

The 2010 NFL draft will be held Thursday through Saturday.

"He impacts the game," said St. Louis general manager Billy Devaney. "That's kind of what we're [talking about]. As a rule, safeties aren't talked about going that high. But this guy, I think in everybody's mind, impacts the game. Again, you try to get impact players, and Berry's certainly one."

Berry played last season under longtime NFL coordinator Monte Kiffin, who was the Vols' defensive coordinator under his son, Lane Kiffin. He was utilized near the line of scrimmage and also was strong in coverage.

"He made me so much of a better player just from the mental part of the game," Berry said. "He told us exactly why he was calling plays. He just didn't call plays and make us run it. ... You kind of got into the mind of a defensive coordinator and kind of understood his philosophy of what he was doing."

In the buildup to the draft, critics have c0ome out of the woodwork. Mike Mayock, the NFL Network's draft analyst, believes that Texas safety Earl Thomas is better than Berry.

“I probably watched 300 to 400 snaps a piece,” said Mayock, on a teleconference call Wednesday. “I went back and watched Berry in ’08 because I wanted to make sure I didn’t do him any injustice, because he had a bigger play-making year in ’08.

“In my opinion, Earl Thomas is the most instinctive free safety I’ve seen on tape in five or six years. He’s a playmaker; he’s got loose hips; he’s got the best range of any center fielder I’ve seen coming out of college football in a long time."

Berry's coverage skills were not tested much last season, as teams generally elected to stay away from his area.

"Berry can do most of those things, but I don’t think he has the instincts," Mayock said. "When I watch tape of these kids, I want to see how quickly you react to what you’re reading, and that’s what separates Earl Thomas.”

Berry is not thin skinned, but he has heard the critiques of his work. When negative things were written about his play in college, he used the news clippings as motivational tools.

"I post it up in my bathroom," Berry said. "I look at it every day when I brush my teeth."

His ball skills had come into question before Mayock's latest analysis.

"You can look at my film and see [his ball skills]," Berry said. "[I had] 14 picks in three years, 12 in two years. Last year I only had two just because teams were going away from me."